A Second Chance
by Alice Lupin
Summary: My Name is Draco Malfoy. Age 28. Owner of DM International. Single. Lonely. Dead? Not quite. Who would be the most affected if I were to die? And after finding out, will I still want to?
1. Life As I Knew It

_Author's Note: I do not own Harry Potter. Any new characters introduced however are my own please do not steal them. This story is set 10 years after they graduate from Hogwarts. Disregard the Prologue in DH. Speaking of Deathly Hallows, Part 2 was AMAZING! I went to the midnight showing in 3D! It was great because there are parts that are, literally, word for word from the book. Hope you all like it as much as I did!_

_Happy reading!  
>AliceLupin<br>__**  
><strong>_**Chapter 1 – Life As I Knew It**

On the outside, life as Draco Malfoy was perfect. Owner of a multi-million dollar, world-wide company called DM International. Owner of Malfoy Mansion, a penthouse suite in Paris, a small estate in Italy, and a good sized cottage on the Isle of Man. Along with several houses in London and the surrounding area that I rent out. Pure-blood, blonde hair, blue eyes, with enough galleons in Gringotts to let me live quite comfortably, with several kids, for at least ten lifetimes. So what was wrong with my life? Why am I currently sitting here with a very potent brew of Belladonna tea?

Let me tell you what the inside of my life is like. At almost 30 years old, I haven't had a serious relationship in years. Most of the bimbo's I 'dated' were only after my money. Everyone around me is married, most of them with children. Even mum remarried after dad died shortly after the war. My business partner, and childhood friend, Blaise Zabini just got married last month and it made me realize how very behind I am. Even Potter and Weasley were married. My secretary and my accountant, most of my servants, over half of the hundreds of people that work for me are married.

Not only that, my dad died shortly after the war and my mum died almost six months ago. Despite what everyone thought about my family, I loved my parents. Sure, dad was busy a lot when I was younger, and til the day he died, but he had been a good father. He had always loved his family. Mum's death was the hardest thing I'd ever gone through. I loved my mother dearly. If it weren't for my best mate Blaise, I'd probably still be in the depression that had kept me at home for three months after Mum's death. The only 'family' I have is my step-father Nigel and a second cousin, Teddy, that I've never met.

In short, my life was an extremely lonely one. And quite frankly I don't like it anymore. I rose from my chair and headed towards my bedroom, slippers swishing against the marble floors. I kicked my slippers off and hung up my bath robe, then set my tea on the night stand and got steeled in my bed. The size always reminded me of how empty my life was. The bed was made for two people. Not one. Picking up my tea, I took a sniff of it. It could be worse. I just hoped the sugar and cream I added would retract from the 'effects'. I took my tea cup in both hands, trying to warm them in the cold house. I suppose it wouldn't matter if my hands were cold and it seemed silly that I was even thinking about it.

What would it be like? Being dead. The only person that would mourn me was Blaise. And maybe Nigel but we had never got along. I glanced over at the very detailed will and two sealed envelopes sitting on my nightstand. As the last of the Malfoy's, I had a lot to take care of. I felt a slight pang of guilt, knowing that Blaise will probably find me tomorrow when I don't show up at lunch. And more than likely he would be taking care of everything. I had left full ownership of the company and all it's profits to him, along with which ever property he wanted. The envelopes were addressed to Blaise One and Blaise Two but they weren't both for him.

Blaise One, which I hope he has the sense to open first, is a letter for him. The envelope addressed to Blaise Two has a letter in another envelope addressed to Hermione Granger. It had taken me over a year to write it. That's right, I've been planning this for over a year. And it all started with Hermione. Now, I'm not blaming her for my suicide, not at all. It is completely my choice. But it was her that made me realize that I would never have the life I wanted.

I've been in love with Hermione Granger for most of my life. I've always thought myself not good enough for her though. After Hogwarts and the war, I was employed by the Ministry as an Auror along with Hermione, Weasley and Potter. We were the best in the department and were always grouped up in assignments. We created a sort of friendship. It was the night our class reunion. We were both pretty drunk, and I finally got my chance with Hermione. And the next morning she made it very clear that I was not to go near her again.

I didn't mention any of this to her in the letter. I would never put her through that guilt. I simply told her that I loved her, and had for a while. I wished her luck in life and told her I hoped to see her in the afterlife. But not anytime soon.

Blaise's letter was a bit lengthy. I reminisced in the beginning, reminding him of times when we were younger, we got older as the stories continued. I wrote about the war, about the fear I had of Hermione dying. I finally told him that I was in love with her. I finished with telling him what a great friend he had been and that I was sorry for putting him through this.

I wished him happiness with his new wife and several kids and that I wouldn't be against him naming his first son after me. I also told him that I was joking about the name. I asked him to deliver the letter to Hermione and to keep my death, and will contents, as quiet as possible. I didn't really think the wizarding world needed to know that I was giving Hermione any property she wanted and a large portion of my Gringotts account. My other properties would go to Nigel and Teddy, and any houses I owned that were being rented would be given to the people that were renting them. Blaise would get first choice of course, Hermione got second, Nigel third and Teddy got the one that was left. Or, I suppose Potter would get it for now.

As for the remainder of the Malfoy fortune, half of what is left is going to Hogwarts and the other half will be split equally between St. Mungo's, a few charities, and a few of my favorite shops. There are a few personal possessions that I've willed to a few people but mostly whatever is in the houses can go to whoever chooses the house to do whatever they want with.

I quickly realized that it was almost midnight. I had been staring into my thoughts for over half an hour. I was content with my decisions. I had chosen this day for a reason, a reason no one would ever guess. In less than ten minutes, I will have known I'm in love with Hermione for exactly 14 years. I realized I loved her in third year. On June 16th of 1994. Exactly a week after the day she punched me in the face. I was angry at first, very angry. Angrier than I should have been. And then I realized that I wasn't really angry anymore. I was hurt. It took me a week and a three hour conversation with mum for me to realize that I was in love with her.

I don't want to go another year knowing that I love her and knowing that I'll never be good enough for her. The clock changed to 12:01am and I lifted my tea cup to my lips.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Came a voice from my door way. I looked up quickly to see a figure standing in the door.

"Blaise?" I called. "Is that you?"

"No." The figure stepped closer and into the light from my window. She looked to be in her early twenties with hair as black as a ravens and strangely purple eyes. She was dressed in a light blue, thick strapped, tank top dress that came to just below her knees. A dark blue sash was tied around her waist.

"Who the bloody hell are you? How'd you get in the house?" I yelled jumping out of bed.

"My name is Anna. I'm your protector. Kind of like what muggles think of as an angel." She replied.

"I have my own angel?" I asked. She nodded. "But why are you here? I'm not dead yet."

"I've come to convince you not to end your own life." She replied, matter-of-factly.

"Excuse me?" I said, lifting an eyebrow.

"You heard what I said. I'm going to show you the three most important people in your life. I will show you the day of your funeral and I will show you what life will be like for each of those people." She explained.

"And what if I don't want to see it?" I asked.

"You have no choice." She replied, walking towards him. "People that end their own lives die too soon. It's not planned for anyone to commit suicide. It throws everything off balance. Ultimately, it's your choice whether you want to do it or not. But everyone gets a glimpse of the future to decide if they really want that for the people most dear to them."

"But you can't actually stop me?" I clarified. She shook her head. "How long will it take?"

"It will seem much longer but here only a few minutes will have passed." I nodded. It couldn't hurt I suppose…

_Author's Note: Hope you guys liked this first chapter. Let me know what you think!_

_Reviews make me happy!_

_AliceLupin_


	2. My Funeral

_Author's Note: I do not own Harry Potter. Any new characters introduced however are my own please do not steal them. This story is set 10 years after they graduate from Hogwarts. Disregard the Prologue in DH. _

_Happy reading!  
>AliceLupin<br>__**  
><strong>_**Chapter 2 – My Funeral**

"Close your eyes or you'll be sick." Anna said just before grabbing my arm. I quickly closed my eyes. When I opened them, we were in the family grave yard. A deep voice sounded behind me and I turned. Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Minister of Magic, was presiding over a funeral. There was a small crowd and I got closer to look at the picture. When it came into view, I took a step back. We were at my funeral. Strange.

"I thought you said three people?" I asked Anna.

"I also said your funeral. Just watch." Anna replied. I wasn't listening much to Shacklebolt. I knew the words he spoke now were the same words he spoke at my father's and mother's funerals. Instead, I was looking around at the few people that had shown up and watching their faces. Nigel was there, expressionless as he always was when he was upset. Blaise, no tears in sight but I saw the trails, along with his wife. My secretary, make up streaked down her face. Several of my co-workers. Harry Potter and his wife Ginny with a small bundle in her arms, Ronald Weasley and his wife Adell, and Hermione. My poor Hermione. It almost broke my heart to see her crying so hard. Why was she crying though? I quickly walked over to the group, stopping next to Hermione.

I watched as Ginny came over to Hermione and handed her the small bundle. Ginny whispered something to her and Hermione shook her head.

"I'm fine." Hermione said back quietly.

"You're not." Ginny argued.

"I needed to come, Gin." Hermione replied. The bundle in Hermione's arms started making noises and moving.

"Do you want me to take Kendra?" Ginny asked.

"No. I've got her." Hermione started walking away from my funeral and I frowned. Why was Hermione taking care of Potter's kid during my funeral? I watched in fascination as Hermione sat down on a bench not too far away and pulled her shirt down. It wasn't Potter's kid, I realized as she started breastfeeding the child. It was hers. I walked over and sat down on the bench next to her.

I could tell just by looking at the tiny human that she belonged to Hermione. She had the same nose and the same curly brown hair. Hermione started rocking side to side, trying to get Kendra back to sleep. Hermione began crying again and a few tears landed on Kendra, who promptly opened her eyes.

"I'm sorry, honey." Hermione whispered to her. "I'm just really sad." Kendra stopped eating and Hermione moved her to her shoulder to burp her. "I should have told him when I had the chance." Hermione continued talking. "I shouldn't have turned him away like that."

The scene before his eyes, slowly began melting away and he was suddenly standing in the foyer of Malfoy Manor. The front door opened and he turned to see who it was. Blaise stepped through the door, closed it behind him and leaned against it, looking around. Blaise started wandering around the Manor, pausing for moments in front of a painting here and there. When Blaise reached the third floor, he froze.

To the left was my bedroom and to the right was my study. Blaise slowly turned to the right and opened the study door. He glanced around for a few moments before going into the room. He went to the solid oak desk in the middle of the room and sat down in my chair. He pulled open a few drawers, seeming uninterested in the contents.

"Why'd you do it Draco?" Blaise said. "You left all of this for me to work out. I can't run DM International by myself. Especially after just losing my best mate. More like a brother really." I sat down in the chair across from him and listened to his rambling. "I just got married. I'm still getting used to that. And now I have to get used to not having you around? We've known each other since we were born. Literally. We grew up together."

Blaise bowed his head and Draco saw tears fall onto his lap. Blaise stood up and turned around to face the book shelf behind him. He picked up a glass paperweight that Potter had given me a few years back for my birthday. It was in the shape of a curled up snake. Without warning, Blaise turned around and hurled the paperweight against the floor. "You fucking asshole! You left me here by myself!" Blaise collapsed to the floor in tears.

I stood up from my chair and went around the desk. I wanted so much to tell him that I was right here. But I wasn't. Not really. In this time, I was dead. I didn't think that it would affect him this much. I didn't realize what a shock my death would be to him.

"Does it hurt?" Anna asked. I turned around slowly to face her.

"What?" I replied.

"Does it hurt?" She repeated. "Knowing that you're the one that's putting them through all this pain. You're the reason that this grown man is curled up on the floor, crying like a lost child." As I stood there staring at her, Blaise abruptly stopped crying and sat up. I turned back to face him. He stared off into space for a few moments before speaking to himself again.

"Luna is pregnant." He said softly. "She got pregnant on our honey moon. I was coming to tell you the morning I found…" He sighed. "If it's a boy his name will be Dracien. I was considering Draco for a while. But I just can't do it. It would hurt too much." Blaise sighed again and stood up. He walked out of the room and I turned back to Anna.

"He's the third most important person in your life, Draco. Can you stand yourself? Knowing that you made him feel pain?" She asked. I shook my head but before I could say anything, the scene in front of me faded again.

I now stood in the living room of the cottage on the Isle of Man. I looked around but it was the same as I left it, no one had moved in yet it seemed. The front door rattled and I turned to see it open. Hermione stood on the porch looking afraid to come into the house. There was something off about her, but I couldn't yet place it.

"I haven't been here in over a year." She mumbled.

"When were you here a year ago?" Came Ginny's voice.

"The night of our class reunion." Hermione replied. Ginny came into view and I saw her nod.

"Well, lets get this done with. Which room would you like to start on?"

"I'll do the upstairs. You do downstairs." Hermione replied. She stepped into the house and I saw her shiver. I followed her upstairs. She paused at the top of the stairs, staring at my bedroom door. Instead of going towards it, she went for the other rooms first. I watched her go through all the spare bedrooms and my office before she got anywhere near my bedroom. She was labeling everything. She was going to sell most of it, some of the more pricey items were being donated to auctions.

She stood in front of my bedroom door for a good five minutes before finally opening the door. She stepped into the room and sighed heavily. She went over and sat down on the bed, running her hand over the blue comforter.

"I miss you." She said to the empty room. She started off into space for a moment. "I was going to tell you. That I fancied you, I mean." Tears starting falling onto her lap. I sat down on the bed next to her and placed my hand over hers on the bed. Her head snapped over to look at her hand. Could she feel mine? Hermione shook her head quickly and looked around the room. "A little over a year ago, you told me you wanted to be with me. I can't help but wonder what would have happened if I had said yes that night. Maybe I wouldn't have Kendra. Who knows? It's been almost a month since you… left. Coming to this house again was the hardest thing I've done in Merlin knows how long. Only Ginny's insistence for the last week made me realize that I had to do it." She paused. "You left a penthouse suite for Teddy. I didn't think you even knew about him. Tonks would have been pleased."

I finally realized what I'd noticed when she walked in. Something was off about her. The way she was speaking was monotone and emotionless. Two things that Hermione Granger never was. Her eyes were sad but they were also hard. She didn't want anyone to know how much everything was affecting her. She sighed and laid down on the bed.

"You would love Kendra. She's so beautiful. I wish you could have met her. I suppose that's my fault though. I never told you about her. I kept her very well hidden." Hermione rolled over on her side to face the window. She closed her eyes and a few tears slipped down her face. I laid down beside her, wanting to comfort her but knowing I couldn't.

"Hermione?" Ginny called. Hermione jumped off the bed and wiped her face.

"In here!" She called back. Ginny appeared in the door way.

"Are you okay?" Ginny asked, looking at Hermione's tear stained face. Hermione's eyes began watering and she shook her head.

"No, Gin. I'm not." Hermione sat back down on the bed and Ginny came and kneeled in front of her. "I miss him so much. I shouldn't have turned him away, Ginny. I shouldn't have. It's all my fault." Ginny got up and sat next to her on the bed, wrapping her arms around her.

"No, Hermione. Don't you ever say that. It wasn't your fault. Draco made his own choices, you didn't force the tea down his throat. He drank it-"

"Hello? Miss Granger?" I frowned. Why was Blaise visiting Hermione? She seemed to have the same thoughts. She quickly got up and left the room, going downstairs. Ginny and I followed her quickly. Blaise stood in the living room with a box at his feet.

"Blaise? How can I help you?" Hermione asked.

"I wanted to see if you want any of this." He replied. He knelt down and opened the box. It was filled to the brim with all of my old baby things, shrunken down to fit in the box. "I saw your little girl at the funeral. Her eyes stick out quite a bit." He smiled gently. "Your secret is more than safe with me." He assured her as he saw the flash of panic across her face. "I just found this stuff in the attic of the Manor. You're the only one I know with a child right now so I figured instead of selling it I'd see if you wanted any of it first." Hermione knelt down and looked at the contents of the box.

"I don't really have time to go through it all right now." She said. "But if you can leave it here for a few days I'll take a look and give you anything I don't want." He nodded and stood up.

"Sounds like a plan. Luna and I have moved into the Manor already. That's where we'll be if you need anything."

"Thank you." Hermione said.

"Anything, I mean it. I know how he felt about you and I can't, with a clear conscious, leave you be. I hope you don't mind me checking up on you every once in a while?" Blaise asked. Hermione shook her head.

"I don't mind. I could use the company. And I'd love to see Luna again!" Hermione said honestly. Blaise chuckled.

"We're having a baby. I'm sure she'd love to compare notes if you'd like to come over some time."

"That would be great." She replied.

"Alright. Well, I'd better get going. You know where I am if you need me."

"Thanks Blaise." Hermione said. He nodded and left.

"I suppose there's one good thing about your death." Anna said from behind me. "Hermione and Blaise become quite good friends."

"I'm assuming Hermione is the second most important person in my life?" I asked, watching Hermione go back upstairs with the box.

"Yes." She replied.

"So now's the third person, right?" She laughed.

"Not quite." The world around me faded once more.

_Author's Note: Hey guys! What'd ya think of the second chapter? I made myself cry with the Blaise scene in Draco's office! The next chapter will be set 11 years after this chapter. Draco will see how Blaise and Luna are doing and how Hermione is as well. We'll also find out who the first most important person is in Draco's life. Any guesses? I'll give you a hint. It's not Harry Potter!_

_Reviews keep me going!_

_AliceLupin_


	3. My Most Important Person

_Author's Note: I do not own Harry Potter. Any new characters introduced however are my own please do not steal them. This story is set 10 years after they graduate from Hogwarts. Disregard the Prologue in DH. This chapter is set 12 years after the last chapter. I know I said 11 but I counted wrong. It's twelve!_

_Hope you like it!  
>AliceLupin<br>__**  
><strong>_**Chapter 3 – My Most Important Person**

The world stopped spinning and I was standing in the Garden of Malfoy Manor. I looked up at the old place and noticed a few changes to the house. The biggest change being it wasn't as big and dramatic as it used to be. There was a scream behind me and a little girl of about five came running around the corner, her dark hair flying behind her.

"DADDY! Dracien is being mean!" She yelled. I turned back to the house to see Blaise come out of the back door.

"Dracien! Come here!" He yelled. He picked up the little girl and walked through the garden to where I stood. A boy of about eleven came around the corner. He looked quite a bit like Blaise with tan skin and dark eyes. He'd gotten Luna's hair color though. The little girl looked more like Luna, with fair skin and blue eyes and her father's dark hair.

"I wasn't being mean! I was telling her a scary story." Dracien said, matter-of-factly.

"He scared me daddy! It wasn't nice." The little girl said. Blaise sighed and set the girl down.

"Dracien, no more scaring your sister. Hannah, you know daddy's working. If Dracien is being mean then go find Kendra or play by yourself." Blaise said. He turned and walked back into the house and I followed him. They had changed the inside of the house to. It seemed like they had just cut out the second story and cut each story in half. Blaise climbed the stairs and went into what used to be my study but was now his. He sat down behind the desk and set his head down.

"What am I going to do with those two, Draco?" Blaise lifted his head and looked at a picture sitting on his desk. I leaned over and looked at it. It was the picture taken of us the day DM International was opened. "Dracien is constantly picking on Hannah. And it will be worse when Jacob and Marie are older." There was a knock on the door. "Come in, love." Blaise said. The door opened and Luna came in. She came over and sat on his lap.

"How's your work going?" She asked in that same airy voice she had at Hogwarts.

"It would be better if Dracien and Hannah would stop fighting." He replied. She kissed him on the forehead.

"Their siblings. They'll never stop fighting." She replied. "But Dracien goes to Hogwarts tomorrow. Hopefully, things will settle down."

The scene faded once more and I was standing on platform 9 ¾ next to Blaise, Luna, Dracien, Hannah, and the twins Jacob and Marie who looked about two years old.

"When is she supposed to be here?" Blaise asked.

"She was supposed to be here ten minutes ago. She's probably running late as she always is lately." Luna replied. "Kendra has been asking a lot of questions lately."

"Questions? What kind of questions?" Blaise asked.

"About Draco." Luna said. Blaise sighed.

"It was bound to happen eventually. Hermione's still not over it."

"Obviously." Luna said. "But neither are you. Not really."

"There she is." Blaise said, pointing through the crowd. I followed his finger and saw her walking towards us.

"Sorry I'm late. Kendra lost her wand." A girl stood next to her, about eleven, with wavy light brown hair and bright blue eyes.

"Hi Kendra! How was your summer?" Dracien asked.

"It was okay." Kendra replied quietly.

"Have you told her yet?" Luna quietly asked Hermione. She shook her head. "You need to. Blaise and I were talking about it. The questions will only get worse. And she'll figure it out for herself eventually, then she'll be upset because you didn't tell her."

"Are Harry and Ron here yet?" Hermione asked, ignoring Luna.

"Their over there." Blaise said, nodding his head down the platform.

"Let's go see them Kendra." Kendra followed her mother over to the group and I followed.

"Uncle Harry! Aunt Ginny!" Kendra squealed, hugging them. "Hi Uncle Ron! Hi Aunt Adell!" She said hello to her various cousins as well. Ginny and Harry had three children; James, Albus and Lily. Ron and Adell have three as well; Hugo, Rose and Janie.

"Hello Kendra." Harry laughed. "Are you excited to start your second year?"

"Yes sir." Kendra replied.

"Just don't lose your wand again." Hermione told her daughter.

"I won't Mum." Kendra said angrily. "Don't forget what you promised me." Hermione sighed.

"Yes, I know." Hermione gave her daughter a hug, wished her good luck and put her on the train with Dracien, James and Hugo, who were all starting their first year.

"Promise?" Blaise asked, coming up to the group with Luna and their children. Tears started streaming down Hermione's face.

"I promised her I'd tell her about Draco over the winter holidays." Hermione sobbed. The other adults glanced at each other.

"Maybe that's a good thing." Ginny said. "She'll know the truth. And maybe that will help you to move on." Hermione sniffed.

"I doubt it. But I promised her. And I'm going to keep that promise even if it kills me." She said just before apparating home.

The world around me dissolved once more and I closed my eyes quickly. When I opened them again I was standing in the living room of Hermione's cottage. It had changed a bit and I took the time to look around the room. Several book shelves lined the walls, filled with books and a few pictures of Kendra and Hermione through the years. Pictures lined the top of the fireplace. Pictures of Hermione, Harry, Ron and Ginny from Hogwarts. Pictures of the kids. Pictures of Harry and Ginny, Ron and Adell, and Blaise and Luna. But the picture that caught my attention the most was directly in the middle.

I couldn't believe she still had the picture and it made my throat a bit tight. The picture was taken the night of the class reunion. Blaise had snapped it without us noticing and later gave us each a copy. Mine had always sat on my desk in my study. I was dressed in black dress robes and leaning against the bar. It was a wizarding picture so naturally it moved. I watched as Hermione came into the picture, dressed in a gorgeous blue, knee-length dress, hair pulled back elegantly. She walked up and ordered a drink then turned around to face the party as I was. I turned and smiled at her.

Her picture was different however. It was a different time and she had been through more. I watched in fascination as she turned towards me and smiled, then stood up on her tiptoes and kissed me lightly.

The doorknob turned and I whirled around to watch. Hermione stepped into the house followed by Kendra.

"Go put your school things away and I'll start dinner." Hermione told her.

"Will you tell me the story during dinner?" Kendra asked. Hermione sighed and I could tell it wasn't the first time she'd heard the question today.

"No. Not yet." Hermione replied, going into the kitchen.

"Why not?" Kendra asked. "You're always talking about him. And I know you talk to him too." Hermione froze by the refrigerator. "I know you loved him and you miss him very much. I hear you cry at night sometimes. I'm old enough Mum. I deserve to know the truth." Hermione sighed and her head fell.

"After dinner Kendra. I promise." She said finally. "Go put your school things away." Kendra quickly obeyed and began dragging her trunk upstairs. I needed to hear that story. I had an idea but I wasn't sure if it would work… I had actually been thinking about it since I touched her hand in the bedroom and she looked at it. Hermione was at the sink, washing a few dishes, and I walked up behind her. Taking a deep breath, I wrapped my arms around her and buried my face in her neck. She smelled just like she did then. Hermione froze and I lifted my head.

"Hermione?" I whispered in her ear. "Hermione, listen to me. You have to tell Kendra the truth. I know how hard it might be. But she deserves to know. She's ready."

"You're not supposed to interfere." Anna said sternly behind me. I slowly let my arms drop from around Hermione and I turned around. Hermione dropped the bowl that she had been washing and it shattered on the floor.

"I need to hear that story, Anna." I told her. "That story could make my decision for me."

"I know." She said calmly. "That's why I chose this day to show you. But she would have told Kendra the story even if you hadn't just done that."

"Oh…" I said, feeling slightly dumb. The oven beeped and I spun around.

"Kendra! Dinner's done!" Hermione called. Kendra came running down the stairs and began setting the table while Hermione pulled the lasagna out of the oven for it to cool. I sat down at the table and waited patiently.

"I thought you said it was done?" Kendra said, grumpily.

"It is. It just needs to cool." Hermione replied.

"Well, why don't you put a cooling charm on it? I learned how to do those this year. I could do it if you wanted." She sounded so much like Hermione in second year that it made me chuckle.

"You know you're not supposed to do magic outside of school Kendra." Hermione reminded her. Kendra sighed.

"I suppose… But it's taking forever to cool."

"Fine." Hermione huffed. "_Frescura_." She brought the pan to the table. "So how's school so far?"

"It's good. James and Huie are in Gryffindor. Dracien is in Slytherin with me though. There were some second year boys named Brayon and Jesse that were teasing him about Luna being his Mum. I told them if they didn't shut their faces that I'd do it for them in the toilet. They told on me though. And I got a stern talking to from Professor Slughorn. But it's ok. It them back by putting itching powder that Uncle George gave me in their beds and-"

"Kendra," Hermione sighed. "I thought we said no more pranks." Draco laughed. This kid was cool.

"But Mum! They were making fun of Dracien. He came to my room that night and was crying. He's been getting picked on by everyone. Even the Ravenclaws make fun of him!"

"Well, I'm sorry. But that doesn't mean you can go around pulling pranks on everyone." Hermione insisted. Kendra huffed and ate her lasagna. "How are your classes?" Hermione asked after a moment.

"Their good." Kendra said, grumpily. "Professor Sinstra says I need to work on my mapping over the break. McGonagall, Slughorn and the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor Maloy say I'm the best student they've had since you were in school."

"Have you thought about what new classes you want to take next year?" Hermione asked. I sat through dinner, listening to them talk back and forth. Hermione would quiz her every so often about a spell or creature and she always got the answer right. The girl was just like her mother.

Except she isn't. She has a father. I was trying not to get my hopes up but I had this feeling. I just wanted dinner to be done. Hermione would tell the story and I would know whether my hunch was correct or not. Hermione got up from the table to put away her plate.

"Come to my room when you're done eating." Hermione told her. I got up and followed Hermione to her room. After she closed the door, she went to her closet and pulled out a small box. Sitting down on her bed, she opened it and began pulling pictures out. I assumed Blaise had given her some or she had found them here because she had pictures that were from my Hogwarts years. There was a soft knock at the door. "Come in, honey." Kendra pushed the door open and came in, sitting down on the bed with her mother.

"Draco Lucian Malfoy was born on June 5th, 1980. His parents were Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. He didn't have any siblings." Hermione began. She pulled up a picture and handed it to Kendra. "This is him in his first year. He was sorted into Slytherin and his friends names were Blaise Zabini, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, and Pansy Parkinson." She pulled out a photo of the five of us Slytherin's in first year.

"In second year, he got on to the Slytherin Quidditch team." She set down a photo of me in my uniform. "He was the Seeker. Just like Uncle Harry. He called me a very rude name and made Uncle Ron puke up slugs. In his third year, he taunted a Hippogriff and got his arm tore up. And I punched him in the face."

"You did what?" Kendra asked, shock all over her face.

"I punched him in the face. Something you should know is that during Hogwarts, we hated each other. After the war, we ended up working together and- Oh shoot. I'm getting a head of myself. In fourth year, he got to meet Victor Krum." Hermione pulled out a photo of me and Krum. She continued her short trip through my Hogwarts years, pulling out picture after picture.

"After the war and Graduation, his family was investigated for being Death Eaters. But since Uncle Harry stood up for them, they got off. Uncle Harry, Uncle Ron and I worked as Aurors just after the war, trying to clean up the Wizarding World. Well, Draco was too." Hermione paused and pulled out the picture of our training class. "We were the best group in the Aurors and we were sent on missions together all the time. We slowly got over our Hogwarts years and the years of shit he put us through and formed a sort of friendship. Even after we parted ways, we tried to keep in touch. The four of us, plus Aunt Ginny and Aunt Adell, would go out for lunch every so often." She pulled out a picture of one of our lunches.

"I had a feeling for a while that he fancied me. And to tell you the truth, I had fancied him since just before the war. I would always push it aside though. Convinced it would have never worked. The night of our Class Reunion was… amazing. The castle was beautiful, our teachers were there, we got to spend a night in the castle for the first time in 10 years. Draco was dressed in his black dress robes." She pulled out another copy of the picture in the center of the fireplace. "That's the night you were conceived." Kendra looked up from the picture with tears in her eyes.

"Why didn't you tell him?" She asked.

"I didn't have the nerve. The next morning, I had convinced myself that it would never work between us and I ended it before it began, not knowing that I would have you in nine months. And I was so busy working enough to save money so I could take time off after you were born that I just convinced myself it was better if he didn't know about you. It was wrong of me, I know. I've regretted it everyday for the last twelve years. I'm so sorry you never got to know him. He was a great man. And he would have been an amazing father." She pulled out the last pieces of paper in the box and handed them to Kendra.

"This is the article they had about him in the daily prophet. And the letter he wrote me before he died. I'm not entirely sure you're old enough to read it but you can if you want. In the article it says he died of natural causes. But a heart attack at the age of 27 isn't even likely to happen. He made and drank a very potent brew of Belladonna tea. In the letter he says he'd been planning it for over a year." Kendra did nothing but stare at the papers in her hands while her mother was talking. She handed them back when she was done.

"Read it to me?" Kendra asked. Hermione swallowed hard and nodded, a few tears slipping down her face. Kendra crawled up to the top of the bed and Hermione laid down next to her. Gently, I crawled up on the bed on the other side of Kendra and propped my head up on my elbow, waiting for Hermione to read the letter I wrote to her yesterday. I looked down at Kendra and couldn't believe I was stupid enough not to notice earlier.

Blaise mentioned her eyes. They were the exact same shade and shape as mine, not the clear blue I had originally thought but the grey-blue of my own eyes. Hermione had something at the table about her being in Slytherin. Now that I looked closer at her hair it wasn't really light brown but more of a dark blonde. I was stupid to miss it.

"My dearest Hermione," She began, her voice cracking.

"I hope this letter reaches you soon, before the news gets out of my death. I've told Blaise to pay off the press as much as they want to keep the real reason of my death a complete secret. I plan to drink Belladonna tea and simply fall asleep."

"I wanted to apologize for any wrong I've ever done to you. Everything from calling you a Mudblood to tripping you in the halls. I hope I've made up for it in the last ten years however."

"I want to tell you a story. A story about a third year boy who got punched in the face by a third year girl. Not only was it embarrassing as all hell to be punched in the face by a girl, but it also made me realize something."

"I'm in love with you Hermione Granger. I have been since I don't know how long. But I only realized it in third year. And it took you punching me to do it. Obviously, I couldn't have told you back then. You'd have called me mad and had me sent to St. Mungo's, of course. So I held out. After the war, we became sort of friends and I didn't want to ruin that precarious balance."

"The night of the class reunion was the best day of my life. If only for a night, I was allowed to call you mine. I would exchange one more night with you for millions without you if I could. You were so beautiful that night."

"You're beautiful, Hermione Granger. And I love you. But you told me to stay away and, to try to make you happy, I have. Even though every day without is like a sunless sky, I have stayed where I am. I have not even asked Potter or Weasley about you once, despite the fact that we still have drinks now and again."

"This letter is getting a bit long, so I think I will say good-bye for now. I wish you all the luck and happiness you deserve in life. If Albus was right, we may yet see each other again. I hope to Merlin that I do. To see your face once more would be heaven in its self. I don't wish to see it soon however, so make sure you take care of yourself."

"All my love, Draco Lucian Malfoy." By the time she was done reading, tears were streaming down her face and her shirt was soaked. She looked down at Kendra who was crying as well. Kendra sat up.

"Can I go spend the night with Uncle Blaise tomorrow?" She asked.

"I suppose." Hermione replied. "As long as we can do something together tomorrow morning. I'd like to take you to Draco's grave." Kendra nodded and jumped off the bed. She hugged her mother tightly and kissed her cheek.

"I love you Mum. Thanks for telling me about him." Hermione nodded and Kendra left the room. Hermione rolled over on her side, facing the window and me.

"Am I doing the right thing Draco?" Hermione said. "I feel like I am but it's just… It's so hard without you. I wish you were here. With me. With us. You'd love your daughter, I can guarantee. She's so much like you it hurts to look at her sometimes."

"Time to go." Came Anna's voice. A hand gripped my arm and closed my eyes tightly the bed beneath me vanished and was replaced by a different one. I opened my eyes and sat up in bed. I was back in Malfoy Manor. I glanced at the clock. It was 12:05am.

"Screw sleeping." I mumbled, getting out of bed. I grabbed my cup of tea and threw it out the window, hearing the china break on the stone patio below as I walked away.

I had to find my numbers one and two. Kendra was my number one. But with her, I would find Hermione, my number two. I needed to talk to Potter.

_Author's Note: WOW! Two chapters posted in one day! I'm awesome. Let me know what you think!_

_Reviews keep my happy!_

_AliceLupin_


	4. Saving My Life

_Author's Note: I do not own Harry Potter. Any new characters introduced however are my own please do not steal them. This story is set 10 years after they graduate from Hogwarts. Disregard the Prologue in DH. _

_Hope you like it!  
>AliceLupin<br>__**  
><strong>_**Chapter 4 – Saving My Life**

_Knock, knock_

"Potter?" I called, knocking on the white front door. I thought everyone was awake at 8am? Apparently not, I realized as Potter pulled the door open in his pajamas. I lifted an eyebrow at the pants with flying snitches.

"Get dressed. I need to talk to you." I said pushing past him into the house.

"Wha- It's 8am, Malfoy." He said, checking his watch. "What can you possibly need that can't wait two more hours?"

"I need a cup of espresso and a muggle cigarette. And someone to interrogate. Go get dressed." I told him. He sighed.

"Fine but keep it down. If you wake up Ginny she'll be furious." He stumbled up the stairs to get dressed and I decided to go sit in the living room to wait. I didn't end up sitting however, I ended up look around the room at the few pictures of Hermione and Kendra that were on the walls. There was a picture of Hermione and Ginny when Hermione was _very_ pregnant. And a picture of Hermione and Kendra the day Kendra was born. And a professional photo of Kendra. I didn't know much about babies but by my math, she was about six months old.

"Alright. Let's-" Potter stopped in the doorway of the living room. He watched me pick up the picture of Kendra and run my fingers over the frame.

"Ready whenever you are Potter." I said, putting the frame back. We left his house and went towards the shop part of Godric's Hollow. I pulled out a muggle cigarette and lit it with my wand, checking for muggle eyes first, of course.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Potter asked.

"Hermione." I replied. "I need to know where she is. I need to talk to her."

"I was told by her not to tell you where she is." Potter replied. We both ordered Mochas and continued walking through the little town.

"Well this isn't just about her anymore. How much do you know about Kendra? Has she told you that she my daughter?" I asked. Potter sighed.

"She hasn't outright told us no. But I've had a hunch for a while now." He paused. "How do you even know about Kendra?"

"Long story. You probably wouldn't believe it." I said.

"Let's go sit down over here." Potter said, sitting down on a wooden bench. "I call this bench the truth bench." He said. "Anything you ask me, I have to answer truthfully. However, the second we move from this bench I will completely deny anything I've told you." He paused and glanced over at me. "If Hermione finds out that I told you she lives in the apartment building directly behind us, she would kill me."

"What apartment?" I asked.

"First floor. Room 10." He replied. "Anything else you want to know?"

"Where does she work?"

"No where. She's taking time off to spend with Kendra. She goes back to work next month though. She hates the idea of looking for a babysitter but she has to." He paused. "She was only supposed to take three months off. But she wanted more time off. However now, she's running out of money and she has to go back to work."

"Would she be up this early?"

"Not sure. But if not, Kendra always wakes her up at 9:15 on the dot."

"What's Kendra like?" I asked finally. Potter smiled.

"She's adorable. She actually looks like a perfect mix of you and Hermione. But you've seen the pictures. She wicked smart for her age, even the developmental doctor's she's going to say-" _Beep, beep, beep, beeeeeeeeep._ Potter pulled out his mobile. "Hold on." He flipped it open. "Yes, love?" Pause. "I'm having coffee with Malfoy." Pause. "Yes I can. I'll be back shortly." Pause. "Love you too." He flipped his phone closed and stuck it back in his pocket. "She's going to two developmental doctor's. One's magical one's muggle. And even by both their standards she's really smart."

"Did you expect any different? Hermione's the brightest witch of her age. And I was always a close second to her in school." I told him. He nodded.

"I have to get going though. Ginny is having one of her cravings. Did I tell you she's pregnant?"

"No. You didn't." I replied.

"Yup. Three months." He paused and looked at the apartment building. "When you and Hermione are back together we'll have to have a couple's night." With that, he turned and walked back the way we came. "By the way," He called back. "It's 9:30."

I quickly finished my cigarette and coffee and stood up from the bench. It had been over a year since I'd seen Hermione and I braced myself for the anger that she would no doubt have. I entered the building and looked around. It wasn't the worst place to live but it wasn't the best either. I was immediately determined to get them out of these apartments. I found apartment ten fairly easily. And knocked on the door. I could hear crying from inside.

"Just a second!" Came Hermione's voice. The door opened a moment later to reveal Hermione and Kendra.

"Hello Hermione." The shock on her face was almost comical. "May I come in?" She nodded mutely and pulled the door open further. I stepped into the apartment and looked around. It was simple and homey. A place I could imagine Hermione living.

"How'd you know where to find me?" She finally asked. She walked past me and into the kitchen and I followed.

"I have my sources." I replied. She snorted.

"So Harry told you. I should have known." She set Kendra in a strange looking chair and went to the fridge. "Well, what do you want?" She asked, pulling a bowl out of the fridge and sitting down by Kendra.

"The truth." I told her. I sat down at the table and watched her begin to feed our daughter. "I want to know how you really feel about me. And what happened in your brain the morning after the class reunion." Her hand froze half way to Kendra's mouth and she looked over at me.

"I told you how I felt about that morning." She said, returning to her task.

"You lied. I know you did." I said. "You're convinced that we won't work out and that we'll just cause problems. But you'll never know until you try."

"I don't want to try. I'm perfectly happy on my own with my daughter." She said sternly.

"Speaking of your daughter, she looks familiar. Who's her father again?" I asked casually.

"That's none of your business." She replied.

"It is if she's my daughter. She's about six months old right? That would put her at perfect timing for being conceived the night of the reunion." I pressed. "She has my eyes, Hermione. Stop lying to me." Hermione sighed deeply, she had to have known this would come eventually.

"She's not your daughter. She's mine. I've been her only parent since before she was born and-"

"And who's fault is that?" I demanded. I stood up and leaned towards her. "I know she's mine, Hermione. Give up the charade. If you won't give me a chance to prove my love to you then at least give me a chance to get to know my child. I want to be her father. And I have every right to give it a go. If you won't let me then I shall have to jump to more extreme means of getting my chance."

"What do you mean 'more extreme means'?" She asked.

"I happen to know several lawyers that would solve this issue quickly." I replied calmly.

"That's not necessary. I'll allow you one chance to be Kendra's father. If you go behind my back or anything of the sort even once I can just as easily get my own lawyer." She responded.

"Understood."

"Good. As it turns out, I need a babysitter starting Monday. I have to go back to work sooner than I thought." Hermione got up and rinsed out the bowl she was using to feed Kendra. "I can either drop her off at 7am or you can come here."

"I'd rather you drop her off." I said. "I'd like for the two of you to come to dinner Saturday night." She turned around from the sink and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I suppose we could do that."

"Perfect. Unfortunately, I have some things to attend to at work today." I said standing up. "But I shall see you both later." Hermione let me out and I apparated to DM International.

"Where the hell have you been?" Blaise said as I walked into my office.

"I had some things to attend to." I replied, sitting down behind my desk. Blaise tossed two envelopes on my desk, one open the other still sealed.

"I found these in your room when I went to find you." He sat down in the chair across my desk. "What the hell, Draco? What's been going on?" He seemed almost desperate. "You haven't really talked to me in what seems like years. And then I find out from a letter that you were planning on kil-" I grabbed both letters and quickly ripped them both into pieces.

"Don't worry about it." I replied. "Everything is working out." I smiled at him and he seemed to relax a bit.

"I'm still worried." He replied. "Not only that, you've been in love with Granger for over half your life and I never heard a damn thing about it. What do you mean everything's working out?" I set my quill down and looked over at him.

"I'm a father. The night of the reunion."

"With Granger?" He verified. I nodded. "Wow." He sat back in his chair and watched me carefully. "You're going to try to get her back, aren't you?"

"No. Technically, I've never really had her. One night, yes. But she was never really mine."

"You know what I mean."

"Yes. I intend to make us a real family." I paused. "I love her Blaise. Since third year, I have. I thought I didn't stand a chance with her but recent, and not so recent, events have led me to believe that I was wrong. By the way, I want you and Luna to come over for dinner on Saturday. Hermione is coming and she's bringing Kendra. I want you to meet them both. And I think Hermione will be more comfortable with someone she knows around."

"I'll talk to her. She's been feeling under the weather lately." He said slowly.

"Oh. Yes. Congratulations." I said, recalling my blast to the future.

"What-"

"On the baby. Luna is pregnant, right?"

"Well, yes. But how did-"

"I have my resources." I replied. Blaise left my office, shaking his head as he did.

_Author's Note: Hope this chapter was to your liking! Next one coming soon!_

_Reviews make me happy!  
>AliceLupin<em>


	5. Babysitting My Daughter

_Author's Note: I do not own Harry Potter. Any new characters introduced however are my own please do not steal them. This story is set 10 years after they graduate from Hogwarts. Disregard the Prologue in DH. I'm thrilled with all the positive reviews I've been getting!_

_Hope you like it!  
>AliceLupin<br>__**  
><strong>_**Chapter 5 – Babysitting My Daughter**

"We're here!" Came Blaise's voice from the foyer. I quickly trapezed down the stairs.

"We'll wait in the sitting room for Hermione and Kendra to arrive." I told them. Tea and biscuits was set up on the table and we sat and chatted for a while before there was a knock on the front door. I excused myself and went to open the door.

"Sorry I'm late." Hermione said, stepping into the house.

"It's no problem." She struggled to take her coat off for a moment before I took Kendra out of her arms. She looked like she was about to protest and then thought better of it. She took her coat off, hung it up and we went into the sitting room. "Blaise, Luna, you remember Hermione Granger."

"Of course I remember Hermione." Luna said. She stood up and the girls hugged. Blaise shook Hermione's hand with a polite nod of his head and a muttered "Ms. Granger."

"And this is our daughter Kendra." I said, adjusting the child in my arms.

"She's adorable!" Luna squealed with delight.

"Thank you." Hermione said, beaming.

"Shall we go eat?" I asked. Everyone nodded and I led the way to the dining room. Dinner was a rather loud affair. Between Luna and Hermione trying to catch up and Blaise and I talking business, Kendra felt she was being ignored and promptly began screaming. Hermione set her silverware down and went to get up. I was quicker however and before Hermione could even get out of her seat, I had pulled Kendra out of her seat and left the room.

Hermione, of course, followed moments later.

"Do you need any help?" She asked, coming into the sitting room.

"Nope. We're good." I told her. "Aren't we Kendra?" She gurgled in agreement. Hermione went back to the dining room and I turned my attention back to my daughter. I played peak-a-boo with her for a moment before going back to the dining room to finish my dinner. I made sure to give Kendra some attention every few minutes so we didn't have to leave the room again.

After dinner, we all sat and talked for a bit in the sitting room. Luna soon complained of being tired and sick and Blaise took her home.

"So tell me about your pregnancy and her first six months." I said when it was just Hermione, Kendra and I.

"My pregnancy was terrible. I had constant morning sickness for the first five months. You name a symptom and I had it. For at least a month straight. Other than that it was pretty normal. Her first few months were difficult just because I didn't have much help. But overall she was a good baby. She's slept through the night since she was born."

"Malfoy's love their beauty rest." I told her. She laughed and it made my heart flutter. It got quiet for a moment and Hermione looked around for a moment, I studied her. It was obvious she was uncomfortable being here. "Would you like to go out to dinner with me? Just the two of us?"

"I'd have to find a babysitter…" Hermione replied, stalling for time. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. "I suppose we could go to dinner. How's Friday night?"

"Sounds great." I replied honestly. "Pick a place. Figure out where you want to go and let me know. I think I might be moving soon as well. The two of you will have to come over and see my new place." Hermione smiled briefly.

"I suppose we had better get going." Hermione said. I helped her gather Kendra's things and walked them to the door.

"So I'll be hearing from you soon about dinner?" I asked, as we reached the door.

"Yes. I'll send you a letter tomorrow along with when I need you to watch Kendra." She said. We said our good-byes and she apparated straight from the doorstep. I sighed as I closed the door. It was going to take so much to get Hermione to trust me. I had a plan to speed things up but it meant getting close to the Weasleys and the Potters.

The next day I went to the Ministry and headed straight to the Auror offices. I paused at the door and straightened my tie before pushing it open and heading to the back office that Potter and Weasley shared. They were Co-Head Aurors and were required to spend at least a few hours working on the weekends. It was hit or miss trying to catch them here on the weekend. I knocked on the door and it swung open. They were both sitting at their desks doing paperwork. Weasley looked up and saw me. He quickly jumped to his feet and clenched his fists.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" He demanded. "And on a Sunday?" He glanced at the calendar to make sure he had the right day. Potter sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Ron, sit down and shut up." He said. He motioned for me to take a seat and I did. "But Ron's right." Potter said as Ron sat down as well. "What are you doing here on a Sunday?"

"Looking for you two." I started. They both looked slightly confused and I took that as a sign to continue. "I need your help with Hermione. Recent events have led me to believe that she's the one I'm supposed to be with. She's not too keen on the idea though. I need you two," I glanced over at Ron when I said this. "to help me get into her good graces."

"And why should we do that?" Ron asked.

"Because I can guarantee her happiness and safety." I said looking over at the red head. "And Kendra's. I know she would be happy with me."

"How's this." Potter said. "We have a group dinner every Wednesday night at my place. If you should happen to show up around 5pm we'll invite you in. Also, I'll owl Ginny and let her know that you're coming with us for drinks tonight. She tells Hermione everything. In fact, Hermione will probably be there when we get back."

"But-" Ron started.

"No, Ron. She loves him. She's told me before. She just doesn't trust him. And it's double now that she has Kendra. It would be good for her to… not be single anymore." Potter said. "Speaking of drinks, I'm going to owl Ginny now and we can get going. I'm done working for the day."

"Thank you, Po-Harry." I said, correcting myself. If I was going to get along with them I might as well call them by their names. Except for Weasley. He'd always be Weasley, our king. I mentally slapped myself for recalling my Hogwarts days. It was funny though.

This is bad. I'm drunk. Not plastered, mind you. But quite tipsy. I stepped into the fireplace after Harry and the spinning made my stomach churn. I stepped out of the fireplace and dusted myself off as well as I could. Ginny came into the living room and said hello.

"Hermione will be along in a moment, she's taking care of Kendra." Ginny said. Ron slid into the room behind me. "Did you boys have fun?" She asked.

"Draco might have had a little too much fun." Harry said, chuckling.

"Shut up, Harry. I'm just a little tipsy is all." I told him.

"Mmhm." Ginny said. "Do you need a sobering potion before Hermione comes in?"

"Nope. I'm good." I said honestly. I was good. Just a bit drunk. I sat down on the couch and fiddled with my thumbs. I was nervous for Hermione to come into the room. Everyone else sat down as well.

"So I finally figured out where Hermione's new job is." Ginny said. I looked over at Ginny.

"Really? Where?" I asked.

"Your company actually." Ginny said. "She's working as a financial advisor." I was taken aback. Why hadn't anyone told me about this?

"It's technically not my company anymore. Or at least, it won't be by the end of the week. I'm signing most of it over to Blaise so I can spend more time with Kendra." I told them. Hermione walked in at that moment followed by a young boy who looked about ten years old. The boy had bright blue hair.

Harry chuckled. "Teddy, this is your second cousin Draco. Draco this is Lupin and Tonks' son Theodore, but we call him Teddy."

"Well hello Teddy." I said. "It's good to finally meet you."

"Hi." He said quietly. He went to the book shelf and pulled out _Hogwarts: A History_ then ran out of the room. We could hear him running up the stairs.

"Don't run Teddy!" Ginny yelled after him. "He's really shy." It seemed strange now. I had been on fairly good terms with the people in this room for just over ten years, and yet this was only the second time I'd been in their living room.

"I'd better get going." Hermione started saying. "Kendra is getting grumpy."

"I'll walk you home." I said, getting up from the couch.

"That's really not necessary." Hermione protested.

"I think it's a good idea. It's not safe for you to be walking around at night by yourself." Harry jumped in. "Even if it is a mostly muggle town, you're a pretty girl Hermione. And pretty girls shouldn't be out this late by themselves. I'd go, but Ginny would hex my balls off."

"And I'm far to shmamered to walk anywhere." Ron slurred. (A/N: Shmamered. I know it's not a real word. But it sounds just like it's spelt. SH-MAM-ERED) Hermione sighed in frustration.

"Fine." She turned and walked out of the room to get Kendra's things.

We said our goodbyes and headed out into the cool night. All was peaceful until…

"Just what do you think you're playing at?" Hermione said as she stopped walking.

"Excuse me?" I replied, playing dumb.

"I know you're up to something." She said. "And you've somehow gotten Harry and Ron in on it. Maybe even Ginny."

"I haven't the faintest idea of what you're talking about." I lied. But I could never lie to her.

"You're a terrible liar." She accused.

"Only for a beautiful girl like you." I replied. I slipped my arm around her shoulders and she pushed it off.

"That didn't make any sense after what I said."

"I know." I smiled down at her. She blushed slightly and looked away. "I also know that you just blushed, which, correct me if I'm wrong, happens to a woman in love when the object of her desire does something to please her." I said cheekily. Hermione snorted.

"In your dreams."

"My wettest and wildest, of course."

"You're disgusting." She said with a smile.

"Only for you, babe."

The next morning, I woke to the sun streaming in through Hermione's bedroom curtains. I froze for a moment and tried to gain sense of the room. I was in my boxers. Hermione was very obviously getting out of bed and trying to be quiet about it. My head throbbed a few times as Kendra started crying. I heard the door open and close and I jumped up out of the bed. My clothes were laying in a neat pile on the side of the bed telling me nothing had happened last night. My clothes would have been everywhere. The door opened to reveal Hermione holding Kendra.

"Good you're awake." She walked over and handed Kendra to me. "Watch her so I can get ready."

"Ready?" I asked, still not completely awake.

"My new job. At your job actually." She stopped in her tracks and turned to me. "Do you work at DM International?" She asked.

"Technically? Kind of. I'm in the middle of signing most of the company over to my friend and Co-owner Blaise." I told her.

"Why?" She inquired, turning to dig through her drawers.

"So I can spend more time with you and Kendra." I said. She paused in her digging before grabbing something and leaving the room. I sat Kendra down on the bed and pulled on my jeans, leaving the shirt on the floor. I picked Kendra back up and left the bedroom, heading down the hallway to find the kitchen. By the time Hermione was ready for work, I had fed Kendra and I and changed and dressed Kendra. When she came into the living room, we were playing peek-a-boo.

"So what happened last night? My memory is kinda fuzzy after the walk here." I said, still playing peek-a-boo.

"I went to put Kendra to sleep for the night and I ended up finding you in nothing but your boxers in my bed." She replied.

"Oh." That sounded like me. "Sorry about that."

"Will you be watching Kendra here today or will you be taking her to the Manor?" She said, ignoring last nights escapades.

"Neither." I replied, getting up off the floor and picking up Kendra. "We're going to move all of daddy's things to his new house."

"I'll expect you to be either here or at the Manor when I get off work." Hermione said.

"Why don't you just come to my new place after work?" I asked.

"I've never been there. I wouldn't know how to get there."

"Yes you have, the night of the reunion." I said. She froze and turned towards me for confirmation. "I'm moving into Malfoy Cottage." She nodded slowly.

"Fine. I get off at 6." She said, walking over to the fireplace.

"Time to go shopping, Miss Kendra." I said. "As a Malfoy, shopping should be your best sport."

_Author's Note: So sorry it took so long to get this chapter out! Hope you liked it!_

_Let me know in a review?_

_AliceLupin_


	6. Dining With My Loves

_Author's Note: I do not own Harry Potter. Any new characters introduced however are my own please do not steal them. This story is set 10 years after they graduate from Hogwarts. Disregard the Prologue in DH. _

_Hope you like it!  
>AliceLupin<em>

**Chapter 6 – Dining With My Loves**

Days quickly turned into weeks and I hadn't gotten anywhere with Hermione. She was determined to be nothing but Kendra's mother to me. Kendra was as cute as ever at seven and a half months. She could do what most babies do at nine months though. I wish mother was still here. She would have loved Kendra so much.

I had finally sorted through and moved everything I wanted to the new house. Kendra and Hermione seemed to like the cottage better than the manor. To tell the truth, so do I. I didn't realize until coming back to the cottage what an air of foreboding the manor has. I had lived there my whole life, minus a few summers. The cottage was a much better family home. Which I still hoped to turn it into.

"This is your last chance, man." Blaise's voice broke my thoughts and I looked up. He came striding into my office with a thick stack of papers in his hands. He dropped them on my desk. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Very." I pulled the papers towards me and started skimming through it. It was my last day as a co-owner of DM International.

"So let me get this straight." Blaise said. He sat down across from me and crossed his arms. "You're signing your company over to me because?" I sighed. We had been over this several times.

"I'm signing my company and 90% of all its profits over to you because I want to be able to spend as much time as I want with Hermione and Kendra." I said, for what felt like the billionth time.

"How are you doin' with Hermione, anyways?" He asked. "Is she warming up to you any?"

"Not exactly." I said. "But I'm hoping to change that tonight." I finished initialing and signing everywhere and passed it back to Blaise. I studied the muggle pen in my hand carefully before tossing it in the box next to my desk along with all my personal belongings. It was a good pen. I flashed back to when Hermione had introduced me to Muggle writing utensils.

"_But… where's the ink? How does it write?" I asked. I carefully put the object to the paper and drew a line. Hermione giggled behind me._

"_The ink is inside the pen, Draco." She said. I stared at her dumbly. She sighed and took the pen apart quickly. "See the black stuff in the tube?" I nodded. "That's the ink." She put it back together and handed it to me. "I find it faster to use muggle pens than to use a quill and ink because you don't have to pause what you're doing to reload your quill."_

"_What do you do when you run out of ink?" I asked._

"_You can either go buy a new pen or buy a replacement ink tube." She said. "Just wait until I show you pencils."_

"_What's a pen-cil?" Hermione snorted._

"Draco!" Blaise yelled. I snapped out of my thoughts agains.

"What? Sorry." I said. He sighed.

"What do you plan on doing tonight?" He asked. I glanced at the clock.

"I'll tell you how it went tomorrow when you and Luna come over for dinner." I said. I picked up my box and walked out of the office for the last time. It wasn't my office anymore, it was Blaise's.

I straightened my tie and knocked on the door. Moments later, it opened and the sight before took my breath away. Hermione looked gorgeous in her knee length, black, one shoulder dress. There was a diamond pattern just above her waist and the skirt was cut at a slant so the shortest side went to her mid thigh and the longest went to just below her knee. Her hair was pulled up loosely, but elegantly, so strands fell gently around her face. The strappy heels she was wearing made her legs look bloody brilliant.

Kendra was in her arms in a dress I had bought for her last week. It was just so Slytherin. I couldn't resist it's black and green checkered patern. It was a tank top dress. The top was black with a silver belt design on the waist and the skirt was black and green checkered. It came with a black half sweater, which she was wearing as well. Her hair wasn't long enough to do anything with yet but Hermione had found a green bow clip that matched the dress perfectly. The black, Mary Jane shoes definitely made her the cutest baby in the world.

"You both look amazing." I said. I leaned forward and kissed Kendra on the forehead, wishing I could do the same to Hermione.

"Mama." Kendra said, pointing to Hermione's forehead.

"Does mama need a kiss as well?" I asked.

"That's really not-" Hermione said as Kendra nodded. I cut her off and kissed her forehead.

"You're beautiful." I told her. "Every beautiful girl deserves a kiss on the forehead at least once." Hermione blushed. "Are you two ready?" She nodded and pulled the door shut behind her. I pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to her. "It's a port key. I will be right behind you." The invitation to La Tour d'Argent sucked her and Kendra away to Paris and I apparated immediately. We both landed in the alley way next to the restaurant. Although, 'alley' wasn't the right word for it. The walls were scrubbed clean, not a speck of dirt could be found. There was carpet on the ground and an elegant lamp in the corner that gave off enough light to see the Wizarding entrance of La Tour d'Argent.

"La Tour d'Argent?" Hermione said shocked. "You took us to Paris?"

"Yes." I replied.

"Wow." She said quietly. I went over and pulled the door open, motioning for her to come inside. We entered the lift directly inside the building and I pushed the button labeled 'LTDA-PR'. Hermione remained quiet, looking around intently. The lift slowly climbed five floors.

"Bonjour, monsieur Malfoy." _(Hello, Mister Malfoy.)_The greeter said as we stepped out of the lift.

"Bonjour." I replied. "Nous avons ce soir une reservation." _(Hello. We have a reservation tonight.)_ The greeter looked down at his podium for a moment.

"Oui. Suivez-moi." _(Yes. Follow me.)_ He grabbed two menus and walked back into the restaurant. I placed my hand on Hermione's back and led her after the waiter.

"Are you angry with me?" I asked, quietly.

"No. Just surprised." She replied. "You know French?"

"A little. Enough to have a basic conversation, eat dinner, and ask where the bathroom is." She giggled.

"Nous sommes ici. Une salle privée, avec une chaise haute, pour monsieur Malfoy et sa femme et sa fille." _(Here we are. A private room with a high chair for Mister Malfoy and his wife an daughter.) _The waiter said, stopping at a door.

"Merci." _(Thank you.) _I replied.

"Votre accueil. Vous garçon sera avec vous dans un instant. Avoir une bonne nuit à La Tour d'Argent." _(Your welcome. Your waiter will be here shortly. Have a good night at La Tour d'Argent.) _He walked away and Hermione turned towards me.

"What did he say?" She asked. I opened the door and ushered them inside.

"Something along the lines of 'A private room for two adults and a baby. Your waiter will be here shortly and have a good night at La Tour d'Argent'."The room was small and beautiful. The carpet was a cream color with a black border around the edges. The wallpaper was almost gold with faint swirling, black designs in it. A gold chandelier hung from the ceiling directly above a small table with a cream colored table cloth. Two chairs sat across from each other and a high chair was placed on the side. The window behind the table over looked the Paris night life. I slipped my shoes off, took Kendra out of Hermione's arms and took her over to the large window. I heard Hermione taking her shoes off and sitting down at the table.

"This, my dear Kendra, is Paris." I pointed to theNotre-Dame. "We're going to take mommy there soon." I whispered to her.

"Mama?" She whispered back. I smiled at what a smart girl she was. I turned around, put her down in the high chair and sat down. Hermione watched me pick up my menu and start looking through it. Which meant I picked up my menu and pretended to look through it but really I was watching Hermione watch me. I glanced up at her and she blushed at being caught watching me.

"So what do they have here?" Hermione asked quickly, picking up her menu. I smiled, knowing the menu was in French. She sighed realizing this as well.

"Their specialty is duck. I usually get their mixed vegetables, which is basically a César salad with some added veggies." I said. "Do you want wine?" She nodded.

"Yes please."

"White or red?" I asked. She considered it for a moment.

"Red." Someone knocked on the door and it opened to reveal our waiter.

"Français ou Anglais?" _(French or English?) _He asked immediately.

"Anglais veuillez." _(English please.)_ I replied.

"Great. Hello, family. My name is Jean and I'll be your waiter for this evening. Are you ready to order or do you need some more time?" The waiter asked in English with a heavy French accent.

"We would like to start with a bottle of Bourgogne Pinot Noir and two mixed vegetables starters." I replied.

"Do you have juice?" Hermione asked.

"Yes we do Madam. We have apple, orange, pineapple, grape, and pumpkin."

"Can we also get a large apple juice and a large glass of water?" She asked. "And a piece of toast with jam."

"Will that be all?"

"For now." I replied. The waited bowed and left the room. I looked over at Hermione to see her looking wistfully out the window. "I have a confession to make." She looked over at me.

"And what might that be?" She asked.

"I have an ulterior motive for trying to impress you with Paris." I confessed.

"Draco, you have an ulterior motive for everything." She laughed. Her laughter came to a halt when she saw the serious look on my face.

"I love you Hermione." I said sincerely. She gasped, her hand rising to her chest.

_Author's note: Dun, dun, dun. Cliffhanger. Should she respond with something along the lines of 'I love you too' like she obviously will eventually? Or should she be in denial about it for a while longer? Leave me a review and let me know your ideas! Maybe it'll get into the story. Reviewing has the added benefit of making me a happy author :)_

_AliceLupin_

_P.S. Hopefully the French makes a little more sense now. I know I probably don't have the grammar right but I don't speak French, sorry. Not sure why I didn't put a translation in in the first place…_


	7. My Visitor

_Author's Note: I do not own Harry Potter. Any new characters introduced however are my own please do not steal them. This story is set 10 years after they graduate from Hogwarts. Disregard the Prologue in DH. _

_Hope you like it!  
>AliceLupin<em>

**Chapter 7 – My Visitor**

"_I love you Hermione." I said sincerely. She gasped, her hand rising to her chest._

The door opened and the waiter came in with our wine and starters.

"Thank you." I said as he set our food down and filled our wine glasses.

I took a bite of my salad as the waiter asked "Do you know what you want for your main courses yet?"

"What's your duck specialty tonight?" Hermione asked quickly.

"Tonight we are serving a delicious dish called duck al'orange. It is made with seared chicken and glazed with a sweet orange sauce. We also add a few slices of orange."

"I'll take that." Hermione said.

"I'll take your _canard à la rouennaise__._" I said.

"A bold choice." The waiter said. "The head-chef will be here to personally deliver your meal and take your comments. Bon appetit." The waiter said, bowing out. Hermione quickly took a bite of her salad as I turned back to her. She took her time chewing and I cut up the toast for Kendra.

"This is really good." Hermione said.

"Try the wine." I told her, pouring the apple juice into Kendra's cup and adding some water. She took a sip and her eyes closed.

"That's amazing." She said, taking another drink. I turned my full attention to her and she started fidgeting.

"What do you say?" I finally asked.

"About what?" She asked, feigning ignorance.

"I love you. I don't want to be just 'Kendra's father' to you for any longer." I air quoted with my hands to show her what I meant. "I want us to be a real family. I want us to share a home so that I can see you both before I go to bed and as soon as I wake up. You and Kendra mean the world to me. I love you both so much and it hurts me that you won't even try to make us a family." Hermione looked down at her lap but I caught the tears in her eyes. I slid off my chair and knelt in front of Hermione, placing my finger under her chin for her to look at me. "Can you honestly tell me that these last few weeks haven't been enjoyable?"

"No." She whispered. At some point, my hand slid up from her chin to her cheek and we had slowly gotten closer and closer.

"Give me a chance." I whispered back. "I promise, you won't regret it." Her answer was a searing kiss.

Hermione had insisted that we take things slow. She was still living in her apartment and I remained at the cottage. During the days Hermione worked, I got to spend the day with Kendra. Sometimes we'd go shopping or go to the park but most of the time we stayed home and played. Hermione comes by after work and we have dinner.

Something else she had insisted on was no sex for a while. And it was driving me bonkers. She liked to kiss me passionately and turn me on like no other… And then she'd pack up Kendra and go back to her apartment. I couldn't even convince her to stay the night with me yet.

And then life, like it always does, tossed in something unexpected.

It was a Tuesday.

Despite the fact that I lived in a two-story house, I really only used the bottom floor. There were two bedrooms downstairs, along with the kitchen, dining room, living room and a bathroom. I used one of the rooms upstairs as my study, while the two bottom floor bedrooms were mine and Kendra's. There were five empty rooms, which was a significantly lower number than the manor. I plan on filling at least three of those, if Hermione agrees of course.

We were in Kendra's nursery when I heard the front door open.

"Hermione, is that you?" I called. I picked up Kendra and stood up when there was no answer. Hermione wasn't even due to be back for another three hours. I quickly placed Kendra in her crib and placed a protection charm that only Hermione and I, her family, could undo around her crib. I turned back to the door and strode to the hallway. I was severely startled by the woman standing in the doorway.

"Hello Draco. Long time, no see." The blonde, curly haired woman said.

"River?" I asked, absolutely shocked. Kendra started crying and River looked towards the door.

"Is that Kendra?" She asked. "Can I meet her?" Without waiting for an answer, she walked down the hallway and pushed passed me. I watched as she reached right through the barrier and picked her niece up. I hadn't seen River since before I started Hogwarts. When I was nine, my mother had sent her to live with my long lost Uncle Joseph because she's a squib. Uncle Joseph was kicked out of the family long before I was born for marrying a muggle and leaving wizarding society. She was six years younger than me. Dressed in a tan and brown checked dress with black leggings and knee high, black boots, topped off with a black, sleeveless over shirt, she had jumped back into my life for seemingly no reason. The only reason I recognized her was because of her hair. Her whole life she had had obnoxiously curly, blonde hair. From root to tip, her corkscrew curls were every bit as unruly as they'd been nineteen years ago.

"River, what are you doing here?" I finally asked. She was sitting on the floor playing with Kendra and seemed slightly unreal.

"Visiting my big brother, of course." She said.

"After twenty years?" She paused in playing with Kendra and looked up at me.

"I've been in the muggle world for twenty years. It took a while to figure out how to get a hold of you. Dad wouldn't even let me know anything about the wizarding world until I was eighteen. He finally took me to Diagon Alley when I was twenty. I got busy with school and then he finally told me about you and our parents. I told myself I would finish school before trying to contact you again and then it took me a year to find you."

"By 'dad' I'm assuming you mean Uncle Joseph?" I asked, lifting an eyebrow. River blushed and looked away.

"He was the closest thing to a dad, or parent period, I've ever had. I don't even remember our parents. I barely remember you." She admitted.

"Then why come back? Mum and dad are both dead. If you can't remember us then why bother?" I asked, not understanding.

"Because you're my family." She said simply. "You're my big brother. Dad never had kids. Karen died two years after they were married and he never found anyone else. So I've never had any siblings, until I found out about you."

"Neither have I. Mum couldn't have any more kids after you. Merlin knows they tried." I tried to sound angry but I wasn't. In truth, I wanted to pull her into my arms and never let go. This was my baby sister. Standing right in front of me. I never thought I'd see her again. "How did you find this house?" I asked, changing the subject. "It has a muggle repellant charm."

"I'm not a muggle." She replied, glaring at me. "I'm a squib. I have magic in my blood, I just can't access it. Plus I'm a Malfoy. I can find any of our properties." I sighed and sat down in the rocking chair in the corner. "I know it's a lot. If you like, I can leave. Give you some time to adjust and we can set up a day to catch up. I'd very much like to meet Kendra's mother as well." I shook my head and stood up.

"It's okay. You can stay." I said. "Hermione should be here in a few hours. Are you hungry? I was getting ready to make lunch." She nodded.

"I could eat."

"Would you mind keeping an eye on Kendra while I cook?"

"Not at all." She replied. She picked Kendra up. "We'll come and watch you cook." They followed me into the kitchen and I started pulling out pans, bread, and cheese. "So what do you do? Tell me about yourself." She said, setting Kendra up in her high chair.

"I am the founder of DM International. I'm not the owner anymore, I signed it over to my friend, Blaise Zambini, you'll meet him eventually, so that I could spend more time with Hermione and Kendra." I told her.

"What does the company do?" She asked.

"Lots of things. They mass produce and distribute potions, books, cauldrons, and other items to other countries. They are trying to integrate parts of the muggle world into the magical world. They also support several large charities, both magical and muggle. They have a support team for veterans of the Last Battle, they help them if they need to get a job, or find a place to live. They have floors dedicated to advancing in the potions, defense against the dark arts and health fields." Draco felt like he was bragging a bit, but, in his opinion, he had every right to brag. "They're find new ways to do things every day. Things like using a muggle pen instead of our quill and ink, or maybe finding a magical way to view a fetus while inside a womb. They do a lot."

"Wow." River said, sounding impressed. "What else?"

"Umm." I said, thinking. I decided to start from, basically, the beginning. "I started Hogwarts two years after mum and dad sent you away. You're probably too young to remember what our life was like so I'll try to describe it. I grew up believing that anything muggle related was inferior to everything wizard related. Muggleborns and muggles especially."

"But that changed right? You're with Hermione Granger." She said. I nodded.

"But it wasn't until third year that I started thinking differently and it took me another thirteen years before I got to do anything about it. Anyways, both of our parents had the same views. I'm sure you know father was a Death Eater?" She nodded. "That doesn't mean he was a bad father. He was strict and wanted me to do, what he thought, was the right thing. I don't hold it against them, they believed in what the Dark Lord was trying to do because they didn't know any better. They only started questioning him when he started threatening our family. But I also know that, at least mum, would have put that aside for my happiness."

"What do you mean?"

"I've known I was in love with Hermione since third year. Mother knew about her but didn't know who she was. And I'm not sure how she figured out but she knew she was a muggleborn. She told me so. She never actually knew who Hermione was though. I never told mother her name." We continued to talk through lunch then played with Kendra and talked for a few hours then I put Kendra down for a nap.

"I have something for you." I told her as I pulled Kendra's door shut. She followed me upstairs to my study. "Marcy?" I called, standing in front of a life size painting of a grand chair with a green backdrop. It was at the back of my study, behind the desk.

"Yes?" A female voice said as a woman walked into the portrait. Her black hair was curled and pulled back from her face. She wore a Victorian looking gown.

"I need the vault please."

"Password?"

"Sanctimonia Vincet Semper." The woman nodded and the portrait swung forwards to reveal a metal door the size of the portrait. I placed my hand against it and it popped open. I found the long, thin, dark green box and pulled it out. "Mum wanted you to have this." I turned around and gave it to her. "It's been in the family for generations, as has most of our jewelry, which, by birth right, you still hold ownership over." She opened the box and inhaled sharply.

"I can't take this." She said, looking up at me. "This must have cost-"

"You're a Malfoy." I said, cutting her off. "You may not be used to such pricey items but, I'll tell you just like I will tell Hermione, Malfoy's can afford the best of everything. You may not understand right now but the Malfoy name comes with expectations. One of those expectations is that you have the best of everything." I took the box from her and pulled the necklace out of the box. The thin gold chain and three dark green emeralds still sparkled in the light. He walked around behind her and placed the necklace around her neck, clasping the back. "Besides," I said, turning her around. "It brings out your-" I paused, confused. "I thought your eyes were green?" She laughed.

"They are." She put her head down for a moment and then looked back up at me. Her right eye was now green and the other remained purple.

"I thought you couldn't do magic?" I asked, still confused.

"I can't. It's called a contact. Their prescription because I have bad eyesight. They're kind of like glasses but they go right on your eye." She held her finger up and I could just barely see the small rounded lens. She stuck her finger in her eye and blinked a few times, her eye now back to purple. "It's a muggle thing." She shrugged.

"Ok." She pulled me into a hug unexpectedly. I put my arms around her.

"You know, I've dreamt about what you'd be like for years." She said. "I wasn't anywhere near close. You're better than I imagined. The older brother I never got to have." She looked up at me and smiled and it felt like I was nine years old again, hugging my three year old sister. Until a voice broke the moment.

"What the hell is going on here?" Hermione cried from the door way. I spun around, smiling.

"Hermione," I walked towards her and grabbed her hand, which she immediately jerked away. I immediately realized how it looked. "It's not what you think I promise." I said so only she would hear. "Hermione, love. This is my little sister, River."

"It's good to meet you." River said, coming towards her, holding out a hand. Hermione tentatively shook it.

"Little sister? I didn't know you had siblings." Hermione said, glaring at me.

"Mum and dad disowned me when I was three for being a squib." River quickly explained. "I've lived in the muggle world my whole life. I only just contacted Draco today, actually." She paused. "You have a beautiful daughter." Hermione smiled.

"Thank you." I glanced at my watch.

"You're home early." I said to Hermione, a questioning tone to my voice.

"I got all my work done early so Blaise said I could go home." Hermione turned to leave the room and River and I followed her. "Where's Kendra?" She asked.

"Taking a nap." I replied. "What do you want for dinner?"

"Spaghetti sounds good." Hermione said, taking her coat off as went entered the kitchen. "I'm sorry about bursting in earlier. I hope I didn't interrupt anything." She said to River.

"It's fine." River sat down at the table and stretched. "Draco and I have quite a bit of catching up to do but plenty of time to do it in." She paused. "I'd like to get to know you and Kendra better as well, if that's alright."

"Of course it is. She is your only niece after all. And who knows, I could be your sister-in-law one day." Hermione's voice had a joking tone to it and I smiled to myself. If I had had any say in it, Hermione would already be her sister-in-law. I turned away from the stove after putting the water on to boil.

"Most definitely." I agreed, smiling at Hermione. She blushed and smiled back. Kendra's cries echoed down the hallway and Hermione excused herself to go take care of her.

"How long have you two been together?" River asked.

"One night, almost a year and a half ago, and a couple weeks."

"So Kendra is, how old?"

"Eight months." I told her. "And the cutest baby ever!" I said as Hermione and Kendra came into the kitchen. "But then again she has to be because her mother is the most beautiful woman on the planet." I stepped over to them and kissed their foreheads. Kendra squealed happily.

_Author's Note: So… Draco's sister River is loosely based on River Song from Doctor Who. The main story is almost over. At the end I will have 3-4 chapters showing flashes of their future lives. Should be good!_

_Reviewers are awesome!  
>AliceLupin<em>


	8. My Family

_Author's Note: I do not own Harry Potter. Any new characters introduced however are my own please do not steal them. This story is set 10 years after they graduate from Hogwarts. Disregard the Prologue in DH. Awesome, two chapters in one day! I'll be starting another story very shortly, not sure what it will be called yet but keep a watchful eye out for it._

_Hope you like the chapter!  
>AliceLupin<em>

**Chapter 8 – My Family**

I stared down at my plate listening to River and Hermione chat about work and school and Kendra. I glanced across the table at Kendra who had cheese everywhere and was currently shoveling macaroni into her mouth. She sensed me watching and looked up, smiling with a mouth full of her dinner. I smiled in amusement. Only my daughter can do something disgusting and look cute while doing it. She giggled happily as River turned her attention to her niece. I drowned the rest of my milk and finished my dinner. Hermione's chicken and cheese dinners were delicious and simple. Breaded chicken and macaroni and cheese, which by the way, happened to be Kendra's current favorite food. Her last favorite food was mashed potatoes.

The last few months with Hermione and Kendra had been the best of my life so far. Hermione and I had officially been together for five months and Kendra's birthday party was this weekend, with her actual birthday being on Wednesday. I went up the stairs, heading towards my study. I sat down at my desk and picked up a picture from the right corner. It had been taken about a month ago. I had insisted that we get a professional family photo before Kendra turned one. My goal was to have a professional photo taken once a year for the rest of my life. Silly, I know, but it meant I would always have a mostly-current photo of the three of us so I could brag.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in." I called. River opened the door and stepped inside. "What's up?" River fiddled with her fingers and sat down across the desk from him.

"I…" She sighed. "I have a confession to make."

"What might that be?" I asked, sitting a bit straighter.

"I kind of… lied to you about why I came back into your life." She said the last part very quickly. I looked at her questioningly.

"Dad died." She said finally. "I mean, Uncle Joseph. He died about a week before I came to you. I only wanted to find you because… Well, you're the only family I have left."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked. "I would have understood. Although now that you mention it I've heard you refer to him as past tense a couple of times." She nodded.

"There's more though…" She started again. She took a deep breath. "Even though I finished school I can't seem to find a job anywhere and because of that I'm losing Uncle's house and-" I shook my head.

"What? Why would you lose your Uncle's house?" I asked, cutting her off.

"Because I can't make the payments." She admitted. I laughed and she looked up in shock.

"You're asking me for money?" I asked, slightly amused. She seemed to take my amusement the wrong way and her face turned red.

"You don't have to laugh at me." She said angrily. "You could have just said no." I stood up and walked around the desk.

"Yes. I'm laughing at you." I pulled her to her feet. "But I'm only laughing because you asked. You're my sister, River. What's mine is yours." I pulled her into a hug and felt her smile into my chest. "I'll have a card activated in your name. Use it for whatever you'd like; the house, food, anything you need." I paused and stepped back. "Do you like living there?" I asked. She shrugged.

"It's kind of lonely being in that big house by myself. But I have lots of good memories in that house." I nodded, understanding what she meant. It was the same way I felt about the Manor. The Manor…

"We own several other residences." I said, an idea popping into my head. "I think you'd like the penthouse suite in Paris. Or if you'd like something closer we can get you a condo in the area. It's up to you, of course. If you just want to pay off Uncle's house and stay there that's fine too."

"I'll think about it." She said nodding. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it. You're family and we take care of family."

"I'd better get going." She said. "I'll be back in the morning to help set up for the party." She left, shutting the door behind her. I sat back down at my desk and picked the picture back up. I couldn't believe how lucky I was. I had a beautiful wife and an amazing daughter. Things between me and Hermione couldn't be better. She had been talking about moving in for about a week now. She stayed the night quite often and, naturally, we stared making love again. I knew from Ginny that she was waiting for me to propose. So I suppose things could be better.

I set the picture down and reached into my pocket, pulling out a velvet box. Smiling, I flipped the top open and stared at the ring. I hoped Hermione liked it. Harry had helped me pick it out and I couldn't deny that the platinum sliver band would look great on Hermione. I rubber my finger over the diamond that had been enchanted. It had a small swirl of color on the inside, a strand of red and green swirled together. It looked a bit Christmas-y but I didn't care. It was a symbol of two houses coming together, Slytherin and Gryffindor, a match no one thought would ever happen.

I planned on asking Hermione to marry me tomorrow at Kendra's birthday party. I was slightly nervous about announcing my feeling for her in front of our family and friends but I pushed it aside. I snapped the box shut and hastily put it in my desk as I heard Hermione's footsteps coming to the door. She knocked and I called for her to come in. She opened the door and stepped in to the room, closing the door behind her. She came over and sat on my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck.

"Hello, love." I said. I kissed her gently and felt her smiling against my lips. I pulled away and looked at her. She seemed a bit preoccupied earlier today when she got home, like she had something on her mind, but at the moment she was smiling at me impishly.

"I know something you don't know." She said in a sing-song voice. I smiled.

"And what might that be?" I asked. She gently pulled my hand from her leg and placed it on her stomach. She smiled at me excitedly. I stared dumbly at my hand for a moment before I got it. A smiled slowly spread across my face. "Are-" My voice came out weird and I cleared my throat. "Are you…" She nodded.

"I'm pregnant." I stood up, taking her with me, and pressed my lips against hers. I lifted her up and spun her around. Setting her gently back on the floor, I pulled out of the kiss and placed kisses all over her face. She giggled.

"When did you find out?" I asked.

"This morning." She said. "I called into work and went to St. Mungo's. I spent the rest of the day window shopping for things for the baby." She admitted. I laughed and kissed her again. When I pulled away I rubbed my nose against hers, something I'd taken to doing lately.

"You have no idea how happy this makes me." I whispered to her.

"Why don't you show me?" She asked, biting her lip and smiling. I grinned and picked her up, bridal style, and carried her to my bedroom. I spent the next several hours showing her just how happy I was.

I woke up the next morning to Kendra's cries in the next room. Next to me, Hermione was already getting out of bed. I jumped up quickly.

"What do you think you're doing? Lay back down. I'll go get Kendra." I kissed her cheek and she smiled. "Get a few more minutes of rest, today's gonna be a big day." She laid back down and pulled the covers up and I went to get Kendra ready for the day.

"You're gonna have a baby brother or sister." I told Kendra, dressing her after her bath.

"Da" She said, her version of yeah.

"Yep. And guess what?" She tilted her head to the side and smiled. "I'm gonna ask mommy to marry me today." Kendra squealed happily and I laughed. The smell of bacon slowly filled the nursery. "Let's go see what mommy's doing, shall we?" I picked her up and we went to the kitchen to find, not mommy but Auntie River, making breakfast.

"Good morning." She said, putting some pancakes and eggs on Kendra's high chair tray. I set Kendra down in her high chair and she happily began eating.

"Good morning." I started some coffee, knowing I would need it. Hermione shuffled into the kitchen, still in her pajamas, hair a mess. I smiled and pulled her towards me. "Good morning, love." I said. She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed me.

"Good morning." She replied, smiling up at me.

"Would you like some coffee?" River asked her. "You look exhausted."

"Hmmm. I am." Hermione said pulling away from me and sitting down at the table. "But I can't have coffee for a while."

"Okay. Do you want some break-" River froze. "What do you mean you can't drink coffee for a while?"

"It'll be about eight months before I can have coffee again." Hermione said offhandedly.

"Why?" River asked suspiciously.

"Draco didn't tell you? You're going to be an auntie again." River squealed in excitement and jumped up and down a few times.

"That's awesome! What do you want to eat? I can make you something else if you'd like. Do you want anything to drink? If you want something you don't have I can run to the store and-"

"I'd like some bacon, two pancakes and a small pile of eggs." Hermione said, cutting River off. She smiled at River's exuberance. "Thank you for making breakfast, River." She said, standing up. She got herself a glass of milk as River dished up our plates, trying to repress her excitement.

"So do you know what it is yet?" River asked as we sat down at the table. Hermione shook her head.

"We won't know for a few months."

"Have you thought of any names?" She pressed.

"Not yet."

"Well, what's the hold up?" She asked.

"I only found out yesterday morning." Hermione said, laughing.

"Oh, right." We quickly finished breakfast and started preparing for Kendra's birthday.

I stood back and admired our work as the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" River said quickly. The living room and dining room were decorated in shades of purple and a large banner was hung above the fireplace that read 'Happy first birthday, Kendra.'

Harry and Ginny came inside, wiping their snowy boots on the mat.

"Harry! Ginny!" Hermione came bustling out of the kitchen, flour smeared across her face. She hugged them both, careful not to get flour on them. "I making Kendra's cake." She said, holding up her flour covered hands.

"I'll come help you." Ginny said, taking off her coat. Her belly protruded a bit and I was reminded that she was pregnant as well, four months if I remember correctly. The girls went into the kitchen and I was left with Harry.

"So, today huh?" Harry asked. I nodded, patting my pocket.

"Yup. Hopefully I'll be engaged be the end of the day." I chuckled to hide my nervousness.

"You'll do fine mate." Harry said, clapping me on the back. "We all know she'll say yes." I nodded. "Now, where's the birthday girl?" There was a squeal behind me and Harry smiled over my shoulder.

"Here she is!" River said. I went to open the door as more people arrived.

I looked around my living room at all the people. I never thought all these people would be at my child's first birthday. Harry and Ginny were here, along with Ron and his wife Adell, who I was meeting for the first time, River of course, Blaise and Luna, who was six months pregnant with a boy, my step-father Nigel, and Hermione's parents.

"You did good." Nigel said, coming over to me.

"Thanks." I said awkwardly. We had never had the closest relationship, but I owed it to my mother to make sure he was taken care of.

"I wish your mother was here to see this." He said, almost reading my mind. "She would have been proud of you. You have a beautiful, smart girlfriend and wonderful daughter." I nodded.

"And another one on the way." I said.

"That's great." He said, honestly. "When are you two getting married?" He asked.

"Soon, hopefully." I said, sticking my hand in my pocket to feel the small box. Hermione was talking with her parents and Kendra was playing on the floor with Teddy happily.

_Beep, beep, beep._ The sound was coming from the kitchen. Hermione got a horrified look on her face and quickly went to the kitchen. _Beep, beep, beep. Beep, beep, beep. Beep, be-_ it cut off.

"Excuse me." I told Nigel. I headed to the kitchen to find Hermione sitting on the floor crying silently while a burnt cake sat on the stove top. "Oh, honey." She looked up at me with tears in her eyes.

"I burnt the cake." She said lamely. "I got into the party and completely forgot about it." I went over and sat behind her, pulling her into my lap so she was sitting sideways. I kissed her forehead and she rested her head on my chest.

"It's ok, love." I said comfortingly. "It's nothing to cry over. We can go buy one." I lifted her chin and gently wiped her face dry.

"But it was supposed to be special because I made it." She said sadly. I kissed her gently.

"You can try again next year. She's not going to remember this birthday anyways."

"Yeah but everyone else will." River walked in at that moment.

"Oh my gosh! Hermione are you okay?" She walked over and looked at the cake. "Do you want me to go buy one?"

"Yes, please, River. That would be great." I said. River nodded and left. Hermione sniffed. "How about we go do presents? We'll save River's for last so she can see Kendra open it. Then we'll have lunch and cake." Hermione nodded and we got off the floor. "Go back to the party." I kissed her on the forehead. "I'll clean this up."

"Okay." She gave me a small smile and turned to go to the living room. I tossed the burnt cake in the garbage and rinsed the plate off then went back into the living room. We got through half the presents before River got back, finished the other half and then had lunch. River started cutting up the cake and I cleared my throat to get everyone's attention.

"I'd like to make a small announcement." Everyone turned towards me and I pulled Hermione closer. "We're having a baby." I said. Everyone shouted their congratulations and I started again when everyone was quiet. "I figured, since we already have one and we're about to have another," I said, turning to Hermione. "That we should make this a little more official." I pulled the box out of my pocket and got down on my knee. Hermione hands quickly rose to her mouth, trying to hide her gasp. I flipped the top open and her eyes widened. "Hermione Granger, it may have taken me years to figure this out but you're the love of my life. I can't imagine my life without you in it. You and Kendra and this baby are my life, my heart, and my soul. I know we haven't been together for long, five amazing months, but I've been in love with you for over half my life. So, Hermione, will you please do me the honor of making me the luckiest bastard on the face of the planet and agree to stand in front of our family and friends, and probably several reporters, and become my wife?" By the time I was done, tears were once more streaming down her face. She knelt down and threw her arms around me.

"Yes. Yes, Draco. I will."

After everyone left, we spent several hours cleaning up the house and putting all of Kendra's gifts away. When the house done, Hermione started making dinner and I took Kendra up to my study with me. I sat her on my desk and, once more, picked up the picture. I turned it around to show Kendra.

"Dada!" She squealed pointing to the picture.

"Yep, Daddy's in this picture. Who's this?" I asked her, pointing to Hermione.

"Mama!"

"Very good." I tapped her on the nose and she giggled. "Who's this?" I asked, pointing to her.

"Mmmmm." She said after a minute, shaking her head.

"This is my most special girl. It's you." She babbled incoherently, grinning.

"Aren't you glad you didn't miss this?" A voice from behind me said. I whipped around, wand already drawn. It dropped, however, when I saw who it was.

"Very." I told Anna. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. I'm just doing my job." She came closer with a smile. "Hello Kendra." She gurgled happily and reached her arms out for Anna.

"She can see you?" I asked, amazed.

"Children, especially young, can see things adults can't." Anna said, playing with Kendra's hands. "They're much more sensitive to other worldly beings." She looked at me, suddenly serious. "You know that the future you saw will not exist correct?" I shrugged.

"I figured it would be about the same." Anna shook her head and straightened up. "None of the events in the future without you will happen in the future with you. Everyone's lives were changed." She explained. "It might be slightly similar, but the things you would least expect to change, do. Look at your sister. She didn't come back to the wizarding world when you died. She never saw the article about you having a child and therefore never found you. Blaise will probably not name his son Dracien, as he doesn't need to remember you if you're still here." I nodded, understanding.

"Hey." I said, looking up at her. "Do you know what's in my future? Can you see it?" She nodded after considering it for a moment.

"But I can't tell you anything, if that's what your thinking." I frowned.

"Not even one little thing? I'll know in about three months anyways. What's the harm in telling me?" She sighed.

"What do you want to know?"

"What's the sex of my next child?" She smiled mischievously.

"Both." She said before she swirled away. I watched the spot where she disappeared for a moment, considering her word. Both? Was my kid gonna come out disfigured? Wait… maybe it was twins. That would make sense. But there hadn't been twins in the Malfoy family in hundreds of years. I looked down at Kendra remembering that there hadn't been a girl Malfoy in hundreds of years either, except for River, but she wasn't born magical. It made me wonder briefly if Kendra would be a squib and I pushed the thought away quickly. It was unlikely and even if it turned out that way he would love her no matter what happened.

Maybe it was twins? He picked up Kendra and left his study. He could smell dinner cooking from downstairs and he continued to the kitchen.

"Smells delicious, love." I said, kissing her cheek as I walked by to put Kendra in her high chair.

"Thank you." I came up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. "Oh my- Draco what are you wearing?" She spun around, holding her hand over her nose and mouth and pushed me away with the other hand.

"What? Nothing." I said confused. "You mean my clothes?"

"No. You smell terrible. It made me want puke." She said, holding her stomach now. I frowned.

"I took a shower this morning." Hermione paused, thinking.

"Are you wearing after-shave? Or cologne?" She asked.

"Yeah. Wh- Oh." I finished lamely, realizing what she meant. "You've always loved my after-shave though. You said it made you frisky." I took a few steps towards her and she gagged.

"Not anymore." She said angrily. "Go take a shower. We'll find you some decent after-shave tomorrow." I huffed and went to take a shower. "And throw that crap away." She added. I smirked. There was no way I was getting rid of my after-shave. After her pregnancy was over she'd probably go back to loving the smell. I hid it in a back drawer.

_Author's Note: Almost done! The next chapter is the day of the wedding and then comes the short scenes of the rest of their lives. _

_Leave me a review cuz I'm awesome for posting two chapters in one day, maybe three if I keep it up!  
>Alice Lupin<em>


	9. Life As I Know It

_Author's Note: I do not own Harry Potter. Any new characters introduced however are my own please do not steal them. This story is set 10 years after they graduate from Hogwarts. Disregard the Prologue in DH. I've edited this and the last chapter as some of my dates were off.  
><em>

_Hope you like it!  
>AliceLupin<em>

**Chapter 9 – Life As I Know It**

I stood staring into the full length mirror as Nigel prattled on in the background about how a marriage should be. Blaise stood next to me, with his four month old son Lucas in his arms, rolling his eyes while Harry and Ron were off to the side, Harry fixing Ron's tangled tie. After glancing around the room, through the mirror, I stared at myself. I didn't look any different but I sure as hell felt different.

I glanced back over at Blaise and watched him play with Lucas. A Healer had confirmed that Hermione was having twins in our appointment a few months ago and in our last appointment it was confirmed that they were a boy and a girl. Anna had been right. I couldn't wait to meet them. I looked back at the mirror at myself.

This was the first day of the rest of my life. In a little over 2 hours, I would be a married man. I smirked, thinking of the women of the wizarding world that would wake up tomorrow and find that Draco Malfoy, most well-known bachelor in the wizarding world, was finally married. They'd be heart-broken.

"Harry, Blaise." I said, interrupting whatever Nigel was saying. "Go check on Hermione. Ron, come here, you dunce." Harry and Blaise left the room and Ron walked over to me. "Stay still." I told him, expertly untangling the tie and tying it correctly. "So I hear you and my sister have been getting close." He looked at me with a bit of guilt. "You know you're married right?"

"Adell hasn't been home in days. We had a huge fight and she left to go to her parents." Ron said, defending himself.

"And that makes it okay to cheat on her?" I asked him, lifting an eyebrow.

"Well, no but-"

"Hey. I don't care." I said cutting him off. "The only thing I care about is my sister getting hurt. So I'm going to ask you once. What are your intentions with my sister?"

"I'll let you know when I know." Ron said, turning to look in the mirror.

"That's not good enough." I told him. "If you hurt my baby sister Ron I swear I'll beat you to a pulp. You may be one of Hermione's best friends but River is my baby sister. How would you feel if Harry screwed Ginny over? You'd be pissed. I will be too." Ron turned towards me.

"I don't know what's going to happen between River and I. And if we don't work out, then we don't work out and it's none of your business. But I can honestly say, that right now I have no intention of hurting her. She knows I'm married. She's a big girl and can make her own decisions. I haven't been leading her on and telling her I'm going to leave Adell because I don't know if I'm going to or not." I growled.

"If I find out you've been dishonest to her even once, I swear on my parent's graves-"

"Malfoy." Ron said. "I wouldn't lie to her. I like her a great deal. Maybe more so than I love Adell, I don't know. But I will not lie to her. I am always 100% honest to those I care about, you can ask anyone." I nodded.

"Good." The door opened and, guess who, River walked in.

"Hello, brother." She said smiling. "Hello, sweetie. Hermione looks absolutely amazing. And Mrs. Weasley has placed all sorts of charms on her for her to be as comfortable as possible. It can't be easy standing there for over an hour in heels, let alone at eight months pregnant." River adjusted my bowtie and smirked.

"What?" I asked.

"A bowtie? Really?" She asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Bowties are cool." I said, spinning around to face the mirror and check said bowtie. (_AN: I know, I know. Doctor Who's words. Not mine. Had to throw it in though!_)

"Whatever." River said, waving me off. "Like I said, Hermione looks absolutely amazing."

"Of course she does. She's going to be my wife in little over an hour." I said. I checked my watch and realized it was time for us to head down. Our wedding was being held in the gardens of Malfoy Manor. When I had originally suggested it Hermione wasn't for it in the least. Until she actually saw it. We met Harry and Blaise in the entrance hall. Harry now had his six month old son, James, with him.

"She's beautiful." Harry said, smiling. I smiled back, beginning to feel a bit nervous. We continued out to the gardens and I stood at the front with the minister, Kingsley Shacklebolt. Guests were still arriving and I waited patiently for everyone to arrive and sit down. I saw Harry and Blaise sneak in to give James and Lucas to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. After what felt like an eternity, Nigel walked in with Hermione's mother, the wedding march began and everyone turned to face the back of the garden. Blaise and Ginny came in first, being the best man and maid of honor, followed by Harry and River and finally Ron and Luna. Ginny, River and Luna were wearing matching purple gowns that fell to just below their knees with sweetheart necklines. Ginny's four month pregnant stomach was just barely visible under the gown.

I expected to see Hermione come up next and mentally smacked myself for forgetting about Kendra. She walked down the aisle in a little white dress with purple designs holding a basket that was almost as big as she was. She was the best damn one and a half year old flower girl I'd ever seen. Her hair was curled gently and she wore a white headband with a purple bow, considering her hair was so short I was surprised they could do anything with it. Mrs. Weasley quickly scooped her up when she reached the end of the aisle and I almost gasped as Hermione stepped into the garden. I didn't care about what the dress looked like or who did her hair, though the dress fit her amazingly. The white dress fell to the floor, accenting her protruding stomach. The top was halter style, and a thin purple sash wrapped around just under her bust. The dress was made of silk and was hand gathered towards the top, slowly unfolding just below the purple sash. Her hair was curled to perfection in tiny ringlets and her veil pinned it back slightly so it wasn't in her face. And this beautiful woman, that was eight months pregnant with _my_ children, was coming towards me with the biggest smile I'd ever seen.

"Who gives this woman to this man?" Kingsley asked, making me jump slightly. I hadn't registered that Hermione's father had walked her down the aisle, I was too distracted by the angelic woman standing next to me.

"I do." He said. He lifted Hermione's veil, kissed her cheek and placed her hand into my waiting one.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of two people, Draco Lucian Malfoy and Hermione Marie Granger."

'_I love you.'_ I mouthed to her. She smiled and blushed.

'_I love you too.' _She mouthed back. We gasped hands and a golden strand twirled around our hands, connecting them. The ceremony seemed to pass fairly quickly, though I wasn't too sure on time as I spent most of the ceremony staring at the beautiful woman in front of me. I was jolted out of my staring when Kinglsey told us to recite our vows.

"You first Draco." I shook my head slightly to try and clear it.

"Hermione," I began. "When we first met, we despised each other. And if anyone would have told me back in first year that I would end up marrying you and having an… amazing family with you, I'd have sent them straight to Madam Pomfrey. But now, I couldn't be happier with my life. Subconsciously, I've known that I loved you since third year, just after you punched me." There were a few chuckles from his side. "Thinking about it now, we wouldn't have worked out in third year. I wish I would have told you sooner but at the same time, I don't because, who knows, our lives might not be like this right now had I told you sooner." I paused, considering my next words.

"You're beautiful, Hermione. Inside and out. You and our babies mean the world to me. And if I have anything to say about it I will spend the rest of my life loving, honoring and cherishing you. I love you, with all my heart. I'd rather not mention my past but I want to say this. I treated you horribly and I intend to spend everyday of the rest of my life making up for that." And finally I said the million year old wizarding vows.

"We'll have good times and bad times but I'll be your side through it all, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live. I take you with all your faults and your strengths as I offer myself to you with my faults and strengths. I will help you when you need help, and I will turn to you when I need help. I choose you as the person with whom I will spend my life. I promise you all of this from my heart, for all the days of my life." Tears were running down Hermione's face when I finished.

"Hermione, your vows." Kingsley said, when she didn't start right away. She nodded and took a deep breath.

"I had this whole speech planned out but your words completely wiped it out of my head. So I'll have to improvise." There were a few chuckles from the guests. "I've loved you for almost four years but I had myself convinced that it would never work. And now here we are. Getting married, with a beautiful daughter and twins on the way." She smiled down at her stomach before looking up at me again. "I know you haven't completely forgiven yourself for your past. But I have. And the little girl sitting in the first row is proof of that." She paused.

"So, if you're going to spend the rest of your life making up for your past, I'm going to spend the rest of my days showing you that there's nothing to make up for. The past is the past and there's nothing we can do to change it. I don't want to dwell on the past. I want to live for today and for our future together."

"We'll have good times and bad times but I'll be your side through it all, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live. I take you with all your faults and your strengths as I offer myself to you with my faults and strengths. I will help you when you need help, and I will turn to you when I need help. I choose you as the person with whom I will spend my life. I promise you all of this from my heart, for all the days of my life."

"If any one objects to this union, speak now." Kingsley said. He paused for a moment, waiting. "You may exchange rings." I turned to Blaise and she turned to Ginny, which was slightly awkward with our right hands bound together. "As you each place the ring on your partners finger, repeat these words: With this ring, I thee wed. Draco you first." Hermione held her hand out to me and I slid the ring on to her finger.

"With this ring, I thee wed." I said, trying to suppress the excitement inside me. I held out my hand for Hermione.

"With this ring, I thee wed." She repeated.

"With the power vested in me by the Ministry of Magic, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride." With every word, the gold band around our hands slowly sunk into our skin and I quickly pulled her towards me, kissing her hard. Our friends and family burst into cheers and clapping.

"I love you Hermione Malfoy." I said, pulling away. She smiled.

"It is my pleasure to present to you Draco and Hermione Malfoy." Hermione and I walked back down the aisle followed by the bridal party. The reception was being held in the dining hall but I quickly pulled Hermione upstairs.

"Where are we going?" She asked. I pulled her up the last few steps and spun her around, pushing her against the closest wall.

"Right here." I whispered. I pressed my lips against hers passionately and she quickly melted into the kiss. My hands wandered and ended up on her butt, squeezing it gently. She moaned softly and I would have taken her right there had it not been for the slight cough behind us. I pulled out of our kiss and looked down at her sheepishly. "Who's behind me?" I whispered to her. She peaked around my shoulder.

"River." She whispered back. I sighed in relief.

"Were you planning on joining us any time soon?" River asked, I could hear the smirk in her voice.

"Twenty minutes?" I asked hopefully.

"No." Hermione said, smacking my chest. "We have people waiting downstairs. You can wait a few hours." She reached up and fixed my bow tie. "Wait until you see what I have for you later." She whispered. She winked at me and pushed away from the wall. I grinned broadly. I was the luckiest bastard on the planet.

_Knock, knock_.

"Are you ready to go?" Hermione and I were getting ready for our honeymoon in my old bedroom. Blaise and Luna had taken Kendra to their house for the night. It was decided that they would have her for a few nights and then take her to Harry and Ginny's since we couldn't decide who to leave her with. The door opened and she appeared in a simple, spaghetti strap dress.

"I'm ready. Where are we going?" She asked for the hundredth time.

"You'll find out when we get there. Now lets go or we'll miss our portkey." I said, ushering her out of the room. I led her to the front sitting room and picked up the brochure sitting on the table. I flipped it over so she couldn't see the front. She took hold of the other side and I felt the familiar hook near my naval. We landed and she instantly looked around and froze with a huge smile on her face.

"We're in Athens!" She said in excitement. I soaked in her joy, glad I had kept the secret until now. It made her reaction that much better. She spun around to face me. "How did you know? Ginny told you didn't she?"

"I've no idea what you're talking about. I didn't ask Ginny for help." I said, avoiding the first question.

"How did you know then?" She asked, smiling. "I've always wanted to have my honeymoon in Greece."

"I may or may not have asked Harry to find out for me. And he may or may not have reassigned the task to Ginny." I said. She giggled.

"I love you." She reached up and kissed my cheek.

"I know." I replied grinning. I led her to the Crowne Plaza across the street. We checked in and headed to our suite. Hermione seemed to get more and more nervous as we neared it. I had our trunks sent earlier and Hermione immediately went to hers, grabbed something and went to the bathroom. I undressed and hung my suit up in the closet.

The suite was nice. Decorated in blues and white it was spacious and comfortable. A large king size bed dominated the middle of the room with a dark cherry bed frame. The desk and dresser matched the frame, as did the night stands. A large flat screen telly was mounted on the wall across from the bed. There was a door leading to the bathroom and an arch leading to a small kitchen and dining area. I quickly changed in to a pair of black silk pajama pants, grabbed the remote and jumped up on the bed, turning the telly on in the process. I got lost in it's amazing picture for a while before I glanced at the clock. Hermione had been in the bathroom for a good twenty minutes or so.

Frowning, I clicked off the telly, set the remote down and went to the bathroom door. I could hear something from the other side, though I couldn't tell what it was. I knocked on the door.

"Hermione?" I said. "Are you alright?" I heard her sniff.

"I'm-I'm fine. I'll be out in a minute." Ignoring her words, I opened the door. The sight before me made me want to get a raging boner if it weren't for the fact that Hermione had tears streaming down her face.

"Honey, what's wrong?" I asked. I sat down and pulled her into my lap, trying to ignore how sexy she looked in the blue lingerie. She had a see-through nightie over a bra and thong. It was simple and I absolutely loved it. She held a matching blue garter in her hand.

"It won't fit." She said, sounding miserable. "It won't fit on my fat leg." I suppressed the urge to laugh, knowing it would only cause more trouble.

"Your leg isn't fat." I decided to say.

"Yes it is. The stupid garter won't fit." She argued. "I'm fat." I sighed mentally. This was probably the millionth time we'd had this conversation.

"You're not fat, Hermione. You're pregnant. And beautiful." I said honestly.

"I am not." She insisted. "I look ridiculous in this thing. Ginny said it would make me feel sexy but I just feel like a whale not wearing enough clothes." She wrapped her arms around herself self-conciously. I tried to gently pull her arms away but she held them firm.

"If you look ridiculous then why do I have this?" I asked pointing to my lap. She blushed and looked down. "Have I ever told you my favorite color is blue?"

"You might have mentioned it." She replied. I ran my finger down her arm and watched the goose bumps appear.

"Do you still think you look ridiculous?" I asked, my voice husky. She bit her lower lip.

"Maybe not." I placed an arm under her knees and an arm behind her back and lifted her, standing up. I brushed my lips against hers and carried her to the bed. "I might need some more convincing though." I grinned down at her.

"How much more?" She seemed to consider it for a moment.

"Several hours at least." She said grinning impishly up at me, her earlier worries forgotten. I happily convinced her.

_Author's Note: Anyone that wants a visual of Hermione's dress can go to Tiffany Rose .com and search for her Alya silk bridal gown. Just imagine the sash under the bust being purple. One more chapter to the main story and then probably just one chapter of flashes, I think. Could end up being two. Review and let me know how I'm doing! Still haven't decided on names for the twins. Any ideas?_

_AliceLupin_


	10. Our Suprise

_Author's Note: Once again, I do not own Harry Potter. Any new characters introduced however are my own please do not steal them. This story is set 10 years after they graduate from Hogwarts. Disregard the Prologue in DH. Thanks to Sapphire1031 for the name ideas! My boy name came from her idea of Aidan, I just added a letter. I've gone back and fixed a few dates and added things in the last two chapters._

_Hope you like it!  
>AliceLupin<em>

**Chapter 10 – Our Surprise**

"Draco!" I heard Hermione call. "Are you guys ready yet?"

"Almost!" I called back. I quickly slipped Kendra's shoes on and picked her up. I switched off the light as I left and came face to face with my angry, 9-month pregnant wife. I loved that word. "Kendra gave me trouble. She didn't want to get dressed." I told her. It was a slight lie. The reason I had taken so long is I had been having fun playing with Kendra's hair in the bathtub. The shampoo made it easier to stick all her hair straight up and she looked hilarious.

"Well let's go. We're already late." She turned around and waddled to the living room, Kendra and I behind her. She grabbed a hand full of Floo Powder and yelled out her destination. "Potter Cottage!" I stepped in after her and arrived moments later. Hermione and Ginny were awkwardly hugging each other, due to Hermione's protruding stomach and the seven month old in Ginny's arms. I set Kendra down on the floor and she waddled over to Teddy's old toys in the corner.

"Hey Draco. How are you?" Harry said, coming into the room.

"Pretty good. Where is everyone?" I asked. We had a dinner with our friends once a month and alternated who's house we used.

"Well, Ron and Adell, I know, will be late. Blaise is changing Lucas. River's not here yet. And Luna is in the Kitchen working on dinner so Ginny could feed James. And Teddy is at Hogwarts." He listed off. The fireplace roared to life behind me and I quickly stepped out of the way.

"Hello, brother." River said, stepping out of the fireplace. She wore a light brown button up dress with a large dark brown belt and dark brown cowboy boots.

"Hello River." Ginny handed James over to Harry and went to finish dinner, River followed and Hermione waddled after her. Harry and I sat down and talked for a few minutes about work before Blaise came in carrying Lucas, who was now five months.

"Hey Draco. How are you?" He asked sitting down.

"Dealing with a nine-month pregnant wife." I joked. "How do you think I am?"

"I heard that." Hermione said as she came back in to the room. "Dinner's done."

"I was joking, love." I said, getting up from the couch. We all migrated to the kitchen. Several various baby carriers were placed in the corner of the room. I pulled over high chairs for Kendra, Lucas and James. We all sat down and got the kids ready as Ginny, River and Luna came in with plates of food. They set them down and sat down themselves. We all began dishing up and conversations started up. I cut up some food for Kendra and placed it on the tray in front of her.

"So have you guys picked out names for the babies yet?" Ginny asked from across the table. "You don't have much more time you know."

"We have actually." Hermione replied. "Well… Kind of. We're tied between Adrian or Dimitri for the boy. And Aurora, Avianna, or Destiny for a girl."

"Avianna is a beautiful name." Ginny said, feeding James. "Harry and I are having a girl as well." She said, trying to sound off-handed but not being able to cover her smile.

"That's awesome, Gin!" Hermione squealed. "I'm so happy for you guys. And the timing is perfect! I figured it out and the twins will be going to school with your little girl." I groaned silently. Harry pulled me into a conversation about the Quidditch World cup from three months ago.

"Sorry, I'm late everyone." Ron said, walking into the kitchen. He sat down next to River and started piling food on his plate.

"Where's Adell?" Harry asked.

"Packing." Ron said simply. "We just got done at the Ministry. The divorce is finalized and she'll be out by tomorrow." No one really knew what to say so we all turned back to our previous conversations.

"Isn't it sad?" Hermione said the next day. She plopped down on the couch next to me.

"What?" I asked, not looking away from the telly.

"Ron and Adell." She said. "I mean they've been married for almost five years." I shrugged.

"Better to do it now than later." I replied. "Especially if they weren't in love anymore."

"True."

"Is Kendra asleep?" I asked.

"Mm hmm." She had a strange look on her face.

"Are you alright?" I asked, trying to stay calm.

"I-I don't know." She replied. "My stomach feels… strange."

"What kind of strange?" She shrugged.

"It's gone now. I'm thirsty." She got up from the couch and walked towards the kitchen. I focused my attention back on to TopGear but was distracted once again, moments later.

"Draco?" Hermione called from the kitchen. I sighed and turned off the telly. There was no way I'd finish the episode. I got up and walked towards the kitchen.

"What is-" I cut my self off at the scene in the kitchen. Hermione was leaning against the counter looking like she was about to pass out. There was a puddle of water on the floor and her pants were wet.

Snapping into action, I strode across the kitchen quickly and picked her up, going back to the living room.

"Stay here." I told her, setting her down on the couch. I ran up the stairs, pulling my mobile out of my pocket and quickly called Ginny while I grabbed the hospital bag and a towel.

"Hello?" I heard Ginny on the other line.

"Ginny. I need your help. Kendra just went down for a nap and Hermione's water just broke. Can you-"

"I'll be right there." _Click._ Short and to the point. Sure enough, I heard the fireplace roar to life down stairs. I quickly went back downstairs, threw the towel over the puddle in the kitchen, picked Hermione up, thanked Ginny and flooed to St. Mungo's.

"Well, Mrs. Malfoy, it looks like you got here just in time. You're almost eight centimeters." The Healer told us. "Have you been having any contractions?" She asked.

"Small ones but nothing too bad. Mostly just pressure." Hermione said. The Healer nodded and wrote some notes down on her chart.

"You should really start feel them in about a half hour. Let us know right away if you need any pain medication because once you hit ten centimeters, they won't be affective. I'll be into check on you in about a half hour." She said before leaving.

"DRACO MALFOY! YOU SON OF A BITCH! GO GET ME SOME PAIN POTIONS!" Hermione yelled. I flinched and got up. Son of a bitch had been my name for the last half hour since she started having contractions. I practically ran down the hall looking for a Healer. I finally found one and drug him back to the room, potions in hand.

I hardly noticed the excruciating pain in my right hand as my first son was born. They quickly wrapped him in a blue blanket and took him to the corner to test and bathe him.

"Okay Mrs. Malfoy. Give me one more good push." The Healer said. Hermione nodded and bared down once more. Moments later, our baby girl was born and she too was taken to the tasting and bathing corner. "Oh my." The healer said, a frown on his face. "One more push, Mrs. Malfoy."

"What? What do you mean 'Oh my.'?" I exclaimed, flinching at the pain in my hand.

"It appears there's another child." The Healer said, looking up at us.

"What?" Hermione exclaimed. The Healer nodded. "How in the name of Merlin did you guys miss another baby for nine whole months?"

I sat in the rocking chair next to Hermione's bed holding our son and youngest daughter. Blaise and Luna sat at the end of Hermione's bed cooing over our second oldest daughter. The door was pushed open and Harry, Ginny, James, Kendra, River, Ron and Lucas came through the door. They all saw that Hermione was asleep and promised to be quiet.

The triplets were passed around the room slowly, everyone in awe of them. Our little boy looked almost exactly like me with slightly darker hair. Our middle daughter took after her mother in looks while the youngest had my platinum blonde hair and grey eyes.

"Draco?" Hermione called. I stood up from my seat by Blaise and walked over to her bed.

"Hello, love." I said, kissing her on the forehead. "Did you have a good nap?" She nodded, smiling softly.

"Where are they?" She asked, trying to sit up. She had passed out just after the youngest was born.

"Who do you want to see first?" I asked.

"All of them." She insisted. I chuckled. I took our boy from Blaise, and our girls from Ginny and River and brought them to Hermione. "Adrian." She smiled, holding our son. "Adrian Dimitri Malfoy." She kissed him gently before I placed our girls on her lap, oldest one first. "Aurora Rose Malfoy and Avianna Marie Malfoy."

"Perfect." I told her.

The first month at home with the triplets was a nightmare. We quickly realized that when one started screaming it was a matter of moments before another started screaming as well, followed by the last. We also quickly realized that Kendra didn't like to be woken up by three screaming infants. Our solution? We placed a silencing charm and a sound monitor charm on each of their cribs. When one of them cried, we were the only ones to hear it.

The only time Hermione and I ever got alone was when we were sleeping. We hadn't made love since before the kids were born. Hermione went back to work a month and a half after the kids were born. We fought quite a bit over her job. There was absolutely no reason for her to have it. I had enough money to support us, and several more children, for at least five lifetimes in wealth and comfort.

"I just have to Draco." She said for the thousandth time. "I can't sit at home all day and play housewife. I'd get bored."

"You call this boring?" I had asked later, when all four children were screaming.

The day she went back to work was… a disaster. Kendra and the triplets were up at sunrise, as usual. Avianna was running a temperature which made her cranky. Kendra had been acting really needy since the triplets were born, which everyone told me was normal, but she was taking it too far lately. She seemed to think it was ok to pick on her younger siblings. So when I saw her pinching Dimitri, I had no problem swatting her on the butt and putting her in her room.

I finally called over Mrs. Weasley, who had been a god-send since the triplets were born, and asked her to help me get the triplets down for a nap. Hermione called to say she would be home early, she didn't like being away from the kids for very long. I thanked Mrs. Weasley and had some time to spend with just Kendra. I hated it when she acted like a baby to get attention.

I immediately noticed what a difference spending time alone with Kendra was making. She was in a much better mood when Adrian, Aurora and Avianna woke up and was even trying to help take care of them. Hermione and I had been so busy with the triplets that Kendra had felt ignored.

Hermione came home shortly after the triplets woke up, just after I put Kendra down for a nap. When we fell into bed that night, I pulled Hermione towards me. Kendra isn't the only one that's been feeling ignored. I gently kissed her neck, turning her around to face me.

"How long has it been since we've made love?" I asked her, running my hand up her thigh and hip.

"Far too long." She replied before pressing her lips to mine.

_Author's Note: Sorry it took me so long to get this out. The holidays have been crazy! Hope everyone's year ended well! Let me know what you think of the chapter. Trying to get the story finished by the end of the month so I can start on my next one. Maybe I'll try another Hermione/Remus? I do love the bookworm couple. Also, I read a comment on a previous chapter, when they go to dinner, and I will be going back to place a translation today if you want to reread it. Not sure why I didn't in the first place… Anywho!  
>Read and Review, please!<br>AliceLupin_


	11. Our Children

_Author's Note: Once again, I do not own Harry Potter. Any new characters introduced however are my own please do not steal them. This chapter will have a few different scenes in it and I will let you know how much time has been skipped._

_Hope you like it!  
>AliceLupin<em>

**Chapter 11 – Our Children**

_12 years later_

"Kids! Lets go!" I heard Hermione yell up the stairs. "We have to leave in ten minutes or you'll miss the train!"

"We're coming! Jeesh." Kendra yelled back. A moment later the sound of stomping feet and thumping trunks could be heard on the stairs. I sighed. Kendra was entering the dreaded teenage years and was starting to get an attitude. I stood up from my chair and stretched then left my office to walk into a fight in the kitchen.

"No. I don't care. You get your arse back upstairs and put some jeans on Kendra. It's fourty degrees outside and raining! A skirt and tanktop is _not _appropriate." Kendra spun around and gave me a puppy dog look.

"Daddy!" She said, pouting. I shook my head.

"It's entirely too cold for a skirt, Jellybean." I said, using my nickname for her since she was three. "At least cover your legs up." She huffed and went upstairs, her curly dark blonde hair whipping around the corner behind her. Adrian, Aurora, and Avianna were already eating at the table. "Where's Damien and Bryce?" I asked Hermione after kissing her. I went to the counter and poured a cup of coffee.

"Still upstairs, I assume." She replied, pilling more eggs onto Adrian's plate. I watched the triplets for a moment. Adrian looked like a spitting image of me with light brown hair and grey eyes and was currently shoveling food into his mouth at an obnoxious rate, just like I did at eleven years old the morning I was to go to Hogwarts for the first time. Aurora was the second oldest of the three and she had her curly dark brown hair pulled back away from her brown eyes so it wouldn't block the view of her book. Her plate sat in front of her and she'd take a bite every so often. Avianna was by far the quietest of the three and I worried about her the most. Her curly, platinum blonde hair was everywhere, like always, but what caught my attention was the worry behind her warm, blue eyes. "Could you please go tell Kendra and the boys to hurry up?" Hermione asked, knocking me out of my thoughts. I nodded and set my coffee down then headed upstairs.

I stopped at Kendra's door, to the left of the top of the stairs, and knocked.

"What?" Came her reply.

"Can I come in?" I asked.

"Hold on." The door swung open a second later. She had pulled her hair up and pulled on a pair of jeans.

"Much better, jellybean. Thank you." I kissed her forehead. "Mum has breakfast waiting downstairs. Better get some food before we have to leave." She smiled.

"Ok, daddy." She closed her door and headed downstairs. I moved over to Damiens room, going past Avianna and Aurora's shared bedroom. We kept telling them that if they want their own rooms that we have plenty of space, Kendra already wants to move to the empty room downstairs next to my office, but they always say they don't mind sharing. Adrian got his own room when they turned three. I knocked on Damien's and Bryce's door's at the same time. They both came out, seconds apart.

"Come on you two. Breakfast is ready and then we have to take your brother's and sister's to the train." I said.

"I get to next year, right daddy?" Damien asked, coming out of his room.

"That's right." I said.

"Ad then Bryce will be the only one home with you. Because he's a baby." Damien stuck his tounge out at Bryce as we went down the stairs.

"Damien." I said. "He's not a baby. He's just younger than you. Stop picking on him or you won't be going to Hogwarts at all. Mum and I will keep you home and teach you ourselves." He stopped as we got to the kitchen and spun around to face me.

"You wouldn't?" He cried, a comically terrified look on his face.

"Oh yes, we would. Now go eat your breakfast and no more picking on your brother!" I said. He nodded and practically ran to the table. Bryce pulled on my shirt. "What son?" I asked.

"I'll go to Hogwarts too won't I daddy?" He asked, sounding slightly scared.

"Of course, you will. You just can't go until your older."

"Ok." He looked relieved and headed towards the table. I stood against the counter and picked up my coffee again. Damien seemed to have a mean streak that we couldn't get rid of. He was constantly picking on Bryce and it drove us nuts. Our threats seem to work at the time but a few days later he's back to picking on him. Damien pushed his dark brown hair out of his face to show grey eyes better and I turned to look at Bryce with his light brown hair and dark brown eyes.

He had always had problems. He was born too early and had a heart problem until he was three and they could safely give him the potions to fix it. There were times Hermione and I thought he wouldn't make it. The Healers told us that he came early because Hermione's body couldn't carry him anymore. We were warned that if we had any more children they would have similar, if not worse, conditions. So Hermione got fixed, for lack of a better term. We have six beautiful children, more than we had wanted at first, and that was more than enough. We weren't planning on having any more after Damien, Bryce was a huge surprise, and we decided to make sure we couldn't have any more. He still gets sick quite a bit. When he was three he got the dragon pox so bad we almost lost him again.

The kids finished up breakfast and Hermione ushered them out the door, after getting on shoes, hats and cloaks and grabbing trunks. Hermione and I shrunk the trunks and stuck them in our pockets to be unshrunk at King's cross. Hermione threw her arm out and the Knight Bus shot out of thin air. We all climbed aboard.

"King's Cross please, Ernie." I said, handing him three Galleons as payment.

"Yes, sir, Mr. Malfoy." He said. I quickly found Hermione and kids and sat down for the ride. Kendra was staring out the window, seeming bored, Adrian and Aurora were having a deep discussion about what house they wanted to be in, Adrian wanted Slytherin and Aurora was tied between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Avianna had her nose buried in _Hogwarts: A History, Revised Edition_. Damien was listening intently to Adrian and Avianna talk about Hogwarts and Bryce was settled between Hermione and I, watching the buildings outside fly by.

"Look Daddy! It's Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny!" Aurora squealed as the bus stopped. Sure enough Harry and Ginny were climbing on the bus with their four children.

"Hey Potter!" I yelled as they came into view on the bus.

"Hey Malfoy!" He called back. They hurried towards us as the bus shot forwards again. James sat down next to Kendra and started a conversation up with her. They were both in Gryffindor and had practically grown up together. Hermione and Ginny were constantly talking about how they would end up together. It didn't seem likely being as he was a year younger but I'd seen stranger matches. No one expected Hermione I, that's for sure. Teddy was out of Hogwarts and grown now but he had to come with to see his little sister, Lily, off to Hogwarts. Lily immediately hugged Aurora and Avianna and they were now all talking about the upcoming year. Albus, their youngest, settled himself next to Damien. He was a year younger then Damien but he seemed to have a calming effect on my son that I liked.

Harry and Teddy pulled me into a conversation about Teddy's new job. He would be going to Hogwarts this year to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. They hadn't had a steady Defense professor since we left Hogwarts. The one to last the longest so far had been there for four years before retiring.

"You're dad would be proud." Harry said.

"You're mum as well." Hermione added. "Say hello to Neville for us. He's returning for Herbology."

"Thanks." Teddy said, his hair changing to a deep red. We finally reached Kings Cross and we all pilled off the bus and into the station. Kendra immediately ran through the barrier with James.

"Go on Adrian." I called, as he looked back at us for permission. "Wait for us on the other side." He nodded and took off through the barrier with Albus and Harry and Ginny went next with Lily and Teddy. Hermione took Avianna and Aurora through and I followed with Damien and Bryce. We all made our way towards the train. I quickly spotted Ron and River and they made their way towards us.

"Hello brother." River said, pulling me into a hug. Ron and their children came into view and greeted everyone. Their oldest, Rose, was ten and a spitting image of her mum with not-so-curly hair. Then there was Melody, who was eight and a spitting image of her mum, curly obnoxious hair and all. Their youngest was six, Amy, who took after her father, with flaming red hair and bright blue eyes.

Blaise and Luna came up at about the same time with their four kids. Lucas was now twelve and looked just like Blaise with tanned skin, dark brown hair and blue eyes. He had been placed in Slytherin last year. Their only girl, Hannah, was nine and took after Luna with blonde hair and blue eyes. They also have seven year old twin boys, Rory and Ryan, who have light brown hair and, oddly, green eyes, from Luna's dad and Blaise's dad.

"Hi Lucas." Avianna said, smiling for the first time all day. He smiled back at her.

"Hi Avi. How was your summer?" They started conversing and I tuned out. We said our good-bye's to the kids after catching up with everyone for a few minutes, Hermione and I pulled out their trunks and enlarged them and they started getting on the train.

"Make sure you write tonight and tell us what house you got!" Hermione yelled after them.

"So we'll see you at our house on Friday, right?" River asked. We all agreed and then headed home.

_Friday night at River's and Ron's_

It was still strange to think that my baby sister was married to the Weasel. They lived in the house she had received from Uncle Joseph. The house was significantly less full for dinner with the older kids away at school.

"So what house did everyone get into?" Blaise asked as we sat in the living room. River and Hermione were in the kitchen finishing dinner, while we sat in the dining room and conversed. Rose, Hannah, Melody and Amy were in Rose's room. Bryce was playing with Rory and Ryan and Damien and Albus were playing Wizard's chess in the living room.

"Lily is in Gryffindor." Ginny said.

"Aurora is as well. Adrian and Avi are in Slytherin." I said. "Adrian wrote us and said Avi is having a hard time."

"Lucas did too." Luna said.

"Yeah. He got into a fight over her." Blaise added.

"What happened?" I asked. "They haven't said anything about that."

"Pansy's oldest, Victoria, has been giving her a hard time because of you and Hermione, basically." Blaise said. "I'd bet her mum put her up to it."

"Wouldn't be surprised." I said, more to myself than anything else.

"Dinner's ready!" River called as her and Hermione came out with plates of food.

_Knock, knock_

The door swung open.

"Is Pansy available?" I asked the butler who opened the door.

"May I ask who you are?" He asked.

"Draco Malfoy." I replied. He immediately let me in and led me to front sitting room.

"Miss Parkinson will be with you a moment." He said, backing out of the room. I poured myself a drink from the bottle in the corner. I had always needed alcohol to deal with Pansy. As her high pitched voice came from across the room I flinched.

"Hello Drakey!" I turned around and faced her.

"Hello Pansy."

"What can I help you with today? I haven't heard from you in years." She said. She sat down on the couch.

"Not since you tried to convince the world that your daughter was secretly mine." I sneered at her. "You can help me by telling your daughter to lay off of Avianna." She put on a very fake look of surprise.

"Whatever do you mean?" She asked. "My Victoria would never do-"

"Exactly what her mother did?" I cut her off. "I find that hard to believe. You tell that little brat of yours to stop spreading rumors and stop calling her names. It ends now or your daughter will leave the school. I will not tolerate my son and nephews getting in trouble because of something that your uncontrolled, clone does." With that, I set my empty rocks glass on the counter and left the house.

_Six months later_

"Draco!" I heard Hermione call.

"In my study!" I called back. She came storming in moments later with a piece of parchment gripped tightly in her hand. "What is it love?" I asked.

"Avianna and Adrian are in trouble. Professor McGonagall would like us to come and have a talk with her. She has informed me that the problem originated with Parkinsons daughter but that Avi and Adrian's reactions were most unnessicary." She said very quickly. I groaned.

"Call Harry and Ginny, see if we can drop off the boys for a few hours." I told her. She nodded and marched back out of the room. I pulled on my cloak and headed out into the living room to wait for Hermione and the boys. They came down the stairs moments later and we Apperated to the Potter's.

"Thank you for watching them." Hermione said for the tenth time.

"Don't worry about it." Ginny said. "Go take care of Adrian and Avi."

"Oh I'll take care of them all right." Hermione growled.

We arrived at Hogwarts and headed straight for McGonagall's office.

"Ah. Draco, Hermione." She said as we came in. Adrian and Avi were seated in front of her, along with a short, pudgy girl with long black hair and bright blue eyes. Must be Victoria. Adrian and Avi sank down in their chairs as we walked up to the desk. McGonagall conjured two chairs for us. "Please sit down. We're just waiting for Miss Parkinson." Just the words left her mouth, the fire roared to life and Pansy stepped out wearing skin tight jeans, a very low cut, long sleeve shirt and high heels. "Miss Parkinson, please have a seat." Pansy either didn't notice the distaste in the Headmistresses voice or didn't care. McGonagall cleared her throat and began.

"We've been having problems with your children since the beginning of the year." She said bluntly looking back and forth between Hermione and I and Pansy. "Victoria is constantly interrupting class to make fun of Avianna for getting answers correct. She needs to spend a little more time studying and participating rather than thinking of ways to insult students. As it is, she's behind in every class and in danger of having to retake the year." She paused to look at Victoria, who, smartly, sunk down in her seat. Then she turned back to us. "Avianna was doing wonderfully in class up until about a few months ago, she's completely caught up but her work isn't nearly as good as it was and I believe this is because of the distraction that Victoria is causing in her life. However, Adrian and Avianna's reaction could have severely harmed Victoria or another student."

"What exactly did they do, Ma'am?" I asked. She pulled out a box from under her desk. I pulled out a charred and broken fragment of what was obviously a firework from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. I was gonna kill George.

"They placed these in her cauldron in the middle of a potions class. Somehow, Victoria didn't see them, I suspect an invisibility charm or two was used, Avianna's quiet good at them. As soon as the water was poured into the cauldron they exploded. It's a good thing our Potions master has good reflexes. He placed a bubble charm around the cauldron and no one was harmed. However, had he not reacted so quickly everyone in the room would probably be in the hospital wing right now." Hermione and I glared down at Adrian and Avi.

"How do you plan on punishing them?" Hermione asked with a growl.

"I'm giving them all-"

"All? My daughter has done nothing serious enough to gain punishment!" Pansy shrieked.

"Incase you weren't aware, Miss Parkinson, the word 'Mudblood' has been banned for several years and your daughter uses it on a constant basis." McGonagall replied with anger. When Pansy didn't reply, she continued. "They will all be given a months worth of detention. It will be completed together and the more the fight and argue with each other, the longer it will be. They will not leave their common room unless it is for class, meals, or detentions. Adrian and Avianna, you will both write a three-foot essay on why it is dangerous to use explosives indoors." I heard Victoria snicker and I wanted to smack her. "And Victoria, you will also be writing a three-foot long essay on why blood-status slurs are banned." She groaned and I grinned. "Does this sound sufficient?" I looked down at Avi, who was sitting to my right. She looked up at me and her eyes filled with tears. I nodded and Hermione agreed as well.

"Very well. Children back to your dorms, you may visit with your parents for a few moments first if you wish." She finished.

"Professor?" Avi asked. "Wh-What about the library?" I chuckled, only she would be worried about being able to go to the library.

"You will only be allowed in the library on Saturdays." Avi huffed but nodded. We all left the office and Hermione and I walked Avi and Adrian back to the dungeons.

"Honestly, what were you two thinking?" Hermione said as we started walking. "You could have hurt, or killed, someone! I'm going to wring your Uncle George's neck for giving you those fireworks."

"She deserved it!" Avi said stubbornly.

"Did everyone else in the classroom deserve it too?" Hermione asked. Avi immediately looked down at the floor.

"We're sorry mum." Adrian said. "Next time we'll make sure it'll only affect her."

"No. There will be no next time." Hermione said. "The next time I have to come to Hogwarts because you got in trouble, you'll be coming home with me." Adrian shuffled his feet along the ground as we reached the Slytherin dormitories. "I love you both. Please be good." Hermione said. We pulled them both into hugs and then returned home.

_Author's Note: Hope you guys liked it! I'm on a bit of a roll, I'll probably try to type out the last chapter today! _

_Read and Review, please!  
>AliceLupin<em>


	12. Our Future

_Author's Note: Once again, I do not own Harry Potter. Any new characters introduced however are my own please do not steal them. This chapter will have a few different scenes in it and I will let you know how much time has been skipped._

_Hope you like it!  
>AliceLupin<em>

**Chapter 12 – Our Future**

_Three years later_

I was in a frenzy. My wedding anniversary was tomorrow and I didn't have present yet. I had no idea what to buy her. She hadn't mentioned any books that she wanted and I had spent three hours in the bookstore yesterday only to come up empty handed. She always complained when I got her jewelry and she had so much already that she'd probably never wear all of it.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. I pulled out my mobile and called Ginny.

"Hello Draco. What can I do for you?" Ginny said, answering the phone.

"I don't have anything for Hermione for our anniversary. Help me. I've spent hours in the bookstore and the jewelry store and just about every other store in England!" As I said, frenzy.

"How long has it been?" She asked.

"15 years." I told her.

"Hmmm… How long has it been since you've been on a trip together? Just the two of you." She asked. I was stumped.

"Since before Bryce was born at least." I replied.

"Then take her on a trip. All the kids are at Hogwarts. They won't even notice if you're in Italy for two weeks."

"Italy? Does she want to go there?" I asked.

"Her list of places she wants to visit is quite extensive." She laughed. "Italy is one of the many. Amoung them is Russia, Scotland, Ireland, Alaska, Hawaii and the Bahamas." She listed off. I chuckled.

"Thanks, Ginny." I said, honestly.

"You're welcome. See you in a few weeks. You'd better not miss our dinner at the end of the month!" She scolded me.

"We won't." I said goodbye and hung up then got off the couch and left the house. I had some planning to do.

_One year later_

"Mum! Daddy!" Kendra called through the crowd. We finally reached eachother and she threw her arms around us.

"Congratulations, honey!" Hermione said, excitedly. My little girl just graduated. James came over to us and pulled Kendra towards him.

"Good job, babe." He said, kissing her cheek. Despite my protests, they had ended up together. In fact, they wanted to go on a trip to Paris over the summer.

"Thanks." Kendra grinned. "I have to go to the Great Hall for the class picture." We all followed her and stood against the wall as she joined her friends.

"I know this isn't the best place to talk about this," James started.

"Then maybe you shouldn't?" I asked him, lifting an eyebrow. He faltered for a second then became more determined.

"But I love your daughter very much. I know I'm not out of school yet but with your permission I'd like to ask her to marry me on our trip."

"Have you told your father about this?" I asked.

"He said I should wait until I'm out of school but-"

"Then that's my answer as well." I replied, promptly ending the conversation. Or so I thought.

"I don't see a problem with it." Hermione said. "As long as you wait to get married until your both out of school and have decent jobs."

"No. Kendra is just getting out school. She doesn't need to be distracted by a fiancé. She needs to focus on either going to University or getting a job. I agree with Harry. They should wait until they're both out of school." Hermione opened her mouth to argue but James interrupted her.

"It's okay, Mrs. Malfoy." He said. "I don't mind waiting." Hermione glared at me before stomping away to talk to McGonagall.

"You do get points for asking first though." I said to James. He grinned at me. Points was something I had started when the kids were young. It was points towards being a man. "And more points for actually waiting." I added.

_Two years later_

"YOU DID WHAT?" I bellowed at Lucas.

"I-I got your d-daughter pregnant, sir." He repeated, looking at the ground. I glared at him, trying to melt him to the carpet.

"What do you plan on doing about it?" I yelled. "She just got out of school! She doesn't have a job yet! Your job won't be enough to support her and a child. Did you think about any of this before you decided to have _sex_?"

"We were being careful." He argued. "She's been on the potion for months."

"So was Hermione! And then we had Bryce!" I retorted. I fell back into my chair and pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Are you quite done?" Hermione asked. I nodded. "Good." She turned to Lucas and Avianna, who were sitting on the couch in front of us. "What do you plan on doing?" She asked finally.

"Avi wants to go to University for a few months to be a librarian. The course only takes six months. Madame Pince is looking to retire within the next few years and McGonagall said she'd be thrilled to have Avi as the librarian. Until then, I'm in line for a promotion very soon. If I get it it'll be an extra two Galleons an hour."Hermione nodded.

"Where do you plan on staying?" She asked.

"We're not sure yet." Avi said. "If Luke gets his promotion we'll probably be able to afford a flat."

"Nonsense." I said, immediately. "You can have the flat in Paris if you'd like. It has three bedrooms." I got up and went to the kitchen to get a drink when it hit me. I was going to be Grandpa. I was only 47. Bloody hell.

_Six years later_

"It is my pleasure to introduce to you, for the first time ever, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy!" The Minister said as Bryce and his new wife, Samantha, came into the reception hall. I smiled broadly as they walked past us. Hermione was still wiping tears from her eyes, she cried through the whole ceremony too. I couldn't blame her though. Our youngest was married. All of our children were married, except Damien. He had been dating Lily off and on for years though, it was only a matter of time before he realized he couldn't live without her. He was in more denial than I was.

They stared the toasts and I looked around the room at my children, their spouses and their children. Kendra was married to James but the way they were sitting told me it wouldn't last much longer. They had been having problems for about a year now. Thankfully, they didn't have any children so it wouldn't be quite as aggravating to get a divorce. Avianna and Lucas were still happily married with three children; Brittany, Michael and Violet, five, three, and one, respectively. Aurora was married to Jeremy, who she met at University. They had been together for two years and were thinking on starting a family soon. Adrian had been married to Hannah for three years and they had a little boy on the way.

When everyone got up to dance, Hermione and I did as well.

"Our kids are all grown up." Hermione said, watching Bryce over my shoulder.

"I know, love." I said, kissing her forehead. She laid her head on my chest as we danced.

"What are we going to do?" She asked.

"We're going to stay home and make love all day." She swatted my chest.

"I'm serious." She sounded almost desperate for an answer.

"We'll do whatever we what, love." I said, honestly. "Enjoy our grandchildren, watch telly, go traveling, lay in bed all day."

"That sounds okay I suppose." She said. I lifted her chin and she looked at me.

"I love you." I told her. "I don't care where we are or what we're doing, as long as I have you I'm happy." I pressed my lips against hers and it once again amazed me that even after being married for 24 years, I still felt the same jolt of electricity I did the first time we kissed.

_Six years later_

"Happy Christmas!" Kendra yelled, stepping out of the fireplace with her one year old daughter, JazLynn, in her arms, carefully balanced on her eight month pregnant belly.

"Happy Christmas, Jelly bean!" I said, I jumped off the couch and took Jaz from her. The fireplace roared to life and she stepped aside as Teddy stepped out with their three year old son, Remus. It had been a nasty break up between Kendra and James. Rather than ending it, he decided to cheat on her. James was furious when Kendra and Teddy got together. I was hesitant at first, due to the age gap, but it didn't take long to realize that he really did love her.

Hermione came running into the living room and hugged Kendra, oven mitts still on.

"Come help me with dinner." She said. Kendra followed her back to the kitchen as the doorbell rang. I opened the door to see Adrian, Aurora, and Avianna with their significant others Hannah, Jeremy and Lucas, respectively, and all of their children standing on the front porch. Choruses of 'Happy Christmas' rang through the house.

Damien and Lily and Bryce and Samantha, and their children arrived shortly after. We all sat in the living room, watching the kids play and catching up.

"We're having a girl." Lily said, sitting down with Damien. "We just found out yesterday."

"We're having a girl as well." Samantha said, smiling at Bryce. They were both four months along. Everyone talked babies for a while and then Hermione called for dinner. Dinner was loud and confusing event with 22 people but somehow we managed it. We did presents afterwards and I won't spare the details.

Hermione and I got Teddy and Kendra a book about defensive home spells, Remus got his first toy broom and Jaz received a toy wand. Adrian and Hannah received a new set of pans as Hannah was complaining about their old ones just a few weeks ago. Their five year old son, Daniel got a miniature qudditch set. Aurora and Jeremy got a gift card to the new restaurant in Diagon Alley that Aurora says looks amazing. Michelle, who was four, got a new wizarding wireless radio and Brayden, who just turned two, got a toddler potions set. Avianna and Lucas got a gift card to a wizarding spa. Brittany, who was now 11, got a book on the founders of Hogwarts, Michael, now nine, got a beginners broom so he could start practicing, and Violet, who was almost seven, got a copy of _Hogwarts: A History, Revised Edition._ Damien and Lily received a book of handy spells for babies, as did Bryce and Samantha. Collin, Bryce and Samantha's two year old son, got a new toy wand.

I received a new wrist watch from Kendra and Teddy. Adrian and Hannah bought me a new broom.

"So you can teach Daniel ho to fly." Adrian laughed. Aurora and Jeremy, ironically, got Hermione and I a gift card to the wizarding spa. Avianna, knowing her father well, and Lucas bought me chocolate. Damien and Lily gave me a new pair of slippers, mine were looking a bit worn. I got a new winter cloak from Bryce and Samantha.

My favorite gift was Hermione's though. True to my word, almost thirty years ago, I had gotten a family picture every year until about four years ago when everyone started getting too busy. But Hermione had done it. She had gotten a picture of all of her, the kids and grandkids in front of our house. I had no idea when she took the picture but it must have been recent due to the snow on the ground, the snow man in the center and Kendra's protruding stomach. I leaned over and pulled her into a kiss.

"Thank you." I said. "Open yours from me." I said excitedly. I handed her the package, wrapped in shiny gold paper. She quickly tore off the wrapping and froze, frowning slightly. I lifted the front cover of _Hogwarts: A History_ and she gasped.

"It's signed!" She said excitedly.

"It's also the second copy of the first edition." I told her.

"Where did you get this?" She asked in shock.

"I bought it from his granddaughter." I said. She smiled excitedly.

"I love you. Thank you." She leaned over and kissed me and several of our children, immaturely, made gagging noises.

"I love you too." I replied.

After all the children had left, Hermione and I cleaned up and then she went off to bed. I sat in my office, looking over the picture I'd received. I really did love it. My whole family was in this picture. The frame was beautiful as well. I love my life. I have six beautiful, well-raised children and nine, almost twelve, amazing grandkids. Most of all, I have a wife whom I love more than anything.

Every day of my life, I thank Anna for changing my mind and today was no exception. She saved my life, something I thought no one could do. She gave me… A second chance.

_Author's note: That's it! It's done. What do you think? Hope you liked it! _

_Reviews make me a better writer!  
>AliceLupin<em>


End file.
